Ginerva BlackLestrange, Bellatrix Weasley
by Mitzzi
Summary: AU "It's our choices that define who we are, Harry." A young girl makes a different choice. Ginny spends her mornings as a Weasley, but whenever she closes her eyes, she lives as Bellatrix Black. Slytherin!Dark!Ginny, eventually Evil!Ginny
1. Prologue

My own try at some sort of eventual Dark!Ginny, because there aren't enough of those that do not involve TomGinny. If Harry gets to be Voldemort reincarnated, Ginny deserves the same with Bellatrix.

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><p>There were many ways one could describe Azkaban–<em>horrible, vile, hell-on-earth, death-sentence<em>–none of them good. A looming block of solid rock on a forsaken island, a sentence means assured death. Only the most horrid criminals lurk in its cells, the structure haunted by prowling harbingers of doom.

Human guards have long since abandoned the building, not even the proudest willing to face the prison's other guardians. Dementors, soulless monsters, constantly sucking the happy _memories/thoughts/wishes/hopes/dreams_ from their prisoners _minds/souls/bodies/hearts. _The worst of the worst are sentenced to Azkaban, an inescapable life of torment before them, but there is one punishment worse than a life-sentence; the Dementor's Kiss.

_She thought about screaming for help, but what good would that do? The only ones that could hear her were in the same predicament as she. Stuck behind metal bars of darkness, tortured screams her only companion._

Dementors are dark, foul creatures that most wizards and witches will never have to face. The mere presence of a Dementor can drive the strongest of wizards to his knees, engulfed in the sea of memories–_horrible, haunting moments you wish you could forget_–that a Dementor's passing evokes. They drain a wizard's soul of hope, stealing each moment of joy from within your heart until all that remains is an empty husk. This is the torture that each newly imprisoned Azkaban prisoner awaits.

_She could feel it sliding forward in the darkness, a shadowy figure upon an equally shadowy background. It had never come this close before, and she couldn't remember a time when she had felt quite so helpless. What she would do for a wand…for her magic…_

There is only one proper defense against a Dementor, an invocation of Light magicks so powerful that an inherit creature of Darkness cannot face. The incantation, _Expecto Patronum _calls upon a guardian spirit, formed through the happy thoughts of its creator. There is no documented way to kill a Dementor, as even a patronus can only hold it off or drive it away. But left without a wand–a patronus, facing an uncontrolled Dementor a wizard can only pray for help to arrive, because without it he will surely face the worst of fates.

_The Dementor leaned closer, rotten, grimy hands pushing back a dark veiled hood._

The Dementor's Kiss.

_It's mouth wide open, a gaping black hole, an endless spiral of darkness. Pulling and pulling and pullingandpullingandpulling._

Dementors are most famous for this horrific ability. To swallow a soul, to devour a wizard's very essence. Memories, thoughts, hopes, dreams and wishes, compiled into an endless strand of silver, swallowed in one deadly touch of the lips. The body can live through a kiss, merely a dry husk, all feeling, emotion and rational logic _gonegonegone_, swallowed by the monsters of Azkaban.

_Memories flashed by, birthdays, parties, whispers in the night as she stared at the stars. _"We are Blacks. We are the Best." _A wand leaping into her arms, magic singing through her veins. Spells. Power. _"We are the model of all purebloods." _Betrayal. A scorched out name, followed by another, and WHY? _"We do not associate with filth below our station." _Rumors of a Lord Slytherin, fighting for the Cause. Secret meetings, excited whispers. Tension. Rising. _"Rise and hail your Lord." _A marriage, arranged. No lost love, a union between casual friends. _"For the sake of the family." _Buildings burning, women screaming. Kill, kill, killkillkill. _"Mosmordre!" _For the cause, for your lord. _"Crucio! Where is he?" _Lost in a sea of traitors, our leader, gone. Gone. _"The Dark Lord will rise again!" _An empty cell, a companions screams. Haunted memories floating back, _"Andromenda is dead to us." "I know not this Sirius of which you speak." _A family torn apart. _"Reggie–Regulus is–_dead!_" _And a world's hope, Vanquished. _"He will reward the faithful!"

In a secure cell of Azkaban a Dementor approaches, and a woman, hauntingly beautiful in her endless torture, screams, matted black hair framing her gaunt face. _Bellatrix Lestrange. Black._

_It had only been a year. One year, five months and twenty-seven days. Six hours and eleven minutes. Twelve. She had sworn, _sworn _upon her honor as a Black, a Lestrange, a pureblood, a Death Eater, a loyal servant. Promised that she would find Him, hold out for Him, await Him. She had lied. Death was approaching on a Dementor's wings and NO! _

Still, there have been times, undocumented and lost in the passage of time when a Dementor was defeated–killed, and the wizard in danger spared.

_She would _not _die! Her magic rebelled, fighting against the force that was sucking her in, every drop of magic in her pure, pure blood _screaming _in silent agony and…PUSH!_

But what happens to the souls, thoughts, memories within a Dementor when it dies? Where do they go?

_The Dementor exploded in a whirlwind of flashing bright _magic _as the strand of silver-white memories–_a soul–_burst. Scraps of grey clothing, ragged and slimy, black moisture–_blood?_–accompanying it. Bellatrix collapsed back onto the grimy, filthy floor, drained of her magic and her soul, and the Dementor's vile presence disappeared. There would be no one to record the phenomena that night, the only two to understand the goings-on dead to the world forever. But somewhere that silver strand of memories searched for a host. Strong magic, pure of blood, and young enough to absorb them. And found one in a red-headed baby girl._

The memories don't just disappear. They need a new host, a place of residence, for what is a soul without a body? No, the memories must find a new body, a new host to shape to their will. _Remember._

_Bellatrix Lestrange, née Black closed her eyes for a final time, just as Ginerva Weasley, seventh child of Molly Weasley, née Prewitt opened hers for the first._

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><p>Is this worth continuing? Would love to have your opinion on it. This is only the prologue.<p>

**~Mitzzi**


	2. Chapter 1

_**This chapter was updated, please reread.**_

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><p><em>Warmth. Pulsing, beating warmth. Surrounding her, enveloping her. Everything is warm, so warm. But–ohh, too tight! Push. Push. And cold. Everywhere, cold. Loud, noisy cold. Eyes open. Red. Why so much red? Screams, joy? Anger? Pain? Joy. Loud and so, so cold. Cry, cry, cry, it's so, so cold. Wait–warmth, deposited in her mouth, liquid, moving warmth. More, more, more. So much warmth, entering through her mouth, racing through her body. Warmth is good. Eyes close.<em>

_Sleep._

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><p>Molly smiled sleepily up at her husband, Arthur from the hospital bed as he gingerly cradled their now sleeping newborn daughter to his chest. "Ginerva," She said finally, eyeing the child thoughtfully. "Ginerva Molly Weasley, for my grandmother." The medi-wizard in the corner nodded, a quill besides her scribbling the name down onto an official-looking sheet of parchment before examining the child to record her information.<p>

"Ginerva Weasley, hair?"

"Red, of course."

"Yes, yes," The medi-wizard nodded again, "Eyes?"

"Brown, like her mother." Arthur beamed proudly.

"Mmmm," The medi-wizard returned to her list, finishing only after documenting the weight, seven pounds, date of birth, January 15th, 1982, magical capacity, 9.6/10 _("The highest of all your children, Mrs. Weasley. Destined for greatness this one is.")_ and any other magical capabilities, none.

With a last glance at the parchment to be sure all was in order the medi-wizard left the room, opening the door to allow Molly's other children entrance. In the following pandemonium during which little Charlie demanded to be allowed to hold her, and Bill argued it was only fair that he do so first because _he _was the eldest and _he _was going to be responsible of taking care of her in the future, Molly never noticed a silver strand of something that could have been hair floating from the ceiling to land on her daughter's forearm. She also never noticed the peculiar shape it made, an endless cycle of a snake swallowing its own tail, before it sunk into Ginerva's skin, leaving not a single trace behind.

Had Molly been paying closer attention, perhaps she would have seen her daughter's hair darker a shade or two, or watched little Ginerva's eyes blink open for a second, a beautiful silver-gray. But she wasn't watching, having already handed her daughter off to Arthur in order to stop her five-year-old twins from tormenting their elder brother Percy, and the only one who had saw, a nine-year-old Bill was far too young to remember, or even realize the events importance.

Thus the only chance the remove the parasite before it took hold was lost, and history forever changed.

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><p><em>Warmth. Pulsing, beating warmth. Surrounding her, enveloping her. Everything is warm, so warm. But–ohh, too tight! Push. Push.<em> Again? Why leave warmth again?_ And cold. Everywhere, cold._ _Loud, noisy cold. Eyes open. Black. Soothing, comforting black. _Where is red? _Soft, but so, so cold. Cry, cry, cry, it's so, so cold. Wait–warmth, deposited in her mouth, liquid, moving warmth. More, more, more. So much warmth, entering through her mouth, racing through her body. Warmth is good. Eyes close._

_Sleep. Again._

_Eyes open, and see red. _Where is black?

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><p>The red-haired woman put her down as drowsiness swept over her and her eyes began to close. Cuddled in swathes of slightly scratchy blankets she rolled over and let herself drift to sleep.<p>

_She opened her eyes in a different room and wrapped silkier softer blankets. She watched, slightly detached as she opened her mouth to announce her awakening–and hunger! Feed, feed, feed. The black-haired woman patted her gently, voice soft, whispering in her ear. "Shh, mummy's here, Bella, darling, mummy's here."_

_She felt her lips opening to copy the black-haired woman–_mummy's?–_actions, and tried to close them, but they refused to obey, listening to the commands of another child sharing the body. "Mumum." She stated, feeling an alien happiness wash over her as the mummy held her closer, pride radiating from her in waves._

_As the woman held her closer she felt drowsiness sweeping over her again and closed her eyes to sleep–and wake–to the red-haired woman's voice._

She awoke, red-haired woman cooing over her. Would it work again? "Mumum." She announced loudly just as she had to the mummy, waiting for a reaction. Would it work even though mummy wasn't here?

It did, and the red-haired woman began to laugh loudly, calling for someone to come and see, while asking her to do it again, darling.

"Mumum. Mumum. Mumum." She gurgled happily, pleased with the reaction she had gotten, even without mummy here.

"Yes, Ginny, dear, it's me, mummy." The red-haired woman cooed, holding her gently in her arms.

Mummy? Were both red-hair and black-hair, mummy? "Mumum!" Where's other mummy? Why are you mummy too?

"Yes baby, that's me, mummy." Red-haired woman laughed, holding her tighter.

She nodded to herself as realization washed over her. Two mummy, one black-haired woman, one red-haired woman. "Mumum." And they loved being called by their names. "Mumum." She smiled.

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><p>At first Molly had wondered about their daughter's change in eye color, perhaps she was a Metamorphagis, her abilities already developing and the medi-wizard had simply missed it in her checkup? But as time went on and no more changes shown, Molly concluded that they had merely been so excited to have a daughter they had said what they had expected to see. Babies eyes often changed color, anyway, didn't they?<p>

Instead of the beautiful brown eyes Molly had expected–and thought she had seen–Ginerva had grey eyes with a hint of blue that had obviously come from Arthur. In fact, Arthur often joked that if her hair had been a little darker and her eyes lacking that tiny hint of blue, Ginerva could be someone else's child entirely. As it was, little Ginny's hair _was _a shade or two darker than it had seemed at first, more russet-brown than the bright-red that Molly's children were famous for.

But Molly loved her daughter, regardless of hair color and eye-color, and the bright freckles dotting her face made it obvious just whose daughter Ginerva was.

Ginerva was a darling child, who was thankfully very quiet, and did not cry very often. Molly didn't know how she would have coped if she had been as fussy of a baby as her older brother Ronald. But Ginerva rarely cried and shouted, rarely made noise at all, and so it was a surprise that her first word had come early.

At only seven months little Ginny had surprised Molly by waking up in her arms and calling loudly a garbled pronunciation of mummy–mumum. She had called to Arthur even as she cradled her daughter closer, and asked her to try again.

When she thought back on it Molly realized that perhaps she shouldn't have been so surprised about her daughter's first words coming a month or two early, after all the medi-wizard had commented loudly on her high power levels even from birth, so it was only natural she would be a _little_ smarter and a _little_ better than any of Molly's previous children had been.

Molly cradled her daughter close towards her, rocking her sleeping body back and forth as she thought. No matter how skilled and talented her daughter was, she would protect her from the world as long as she could. And Molly would be sure that when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came back, her beautiful baby daughter would be safe and sound at home. She wouldn't lose anyone to the war ever again.

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><p><em>Mother was getting big. Once she had learned to walk, black-haired Mummy had begun to demand to be called Mother. Mother had given her a new set of rules as well, because she was a big girl now, and she was in charge of honoring the house of Black.<em>

_There was to be no more crying, even if she was upset, because Blacks don't cry. Blacks are the best, and there is nothing deserving of their tears. Mother had said that more rules would be added as she grew older and was able to understand them properly, but she didn't think this was fair, because Mother had said she was a big girl now. She was almost three! She could understand anything Mother told her!_

_Mother said a new sister was coming, and pointed at her belly that was getting to be really big, just like Mummy's belly, but when she had asked Mummy if she was getting another sister Mummy had said she wasn't._

_Maybe Mother was right and it was one of the things you had to be bigger to understand. _

_Maybe when she was bigger she would understand why Mother and Father always called her Bella or Bellatrix, but Mummy and Daddy always called her Ginny or Ginerva. She had tried to ask Mother before, but she had been unable to, instead asking about Mother's belly again. She soon realized she couldn't change what she was going to say, which was funny because when she was Ginny she could say whatever she liked. _

_But Mother was always right, and if Mother said there were some things you had to be bigger to understand then she would wait until she was bigger and see if she understood then. She closed her eyes, curling into her pillow and fell asleep, maybe she would ask Mummy in the morning._

Ginny opened her eyes and leaned over the edge of her bed–_a big girl bed!_–to see if she could find Mummy. She could always try calling out for Mummy, but Mother said that was un-dig-ni-fied, so she would save that as a last resort.

"Mummy?" She called, _quietly mind you, _looking around the room. Mummy was almost always near by when she was needed. Better than Mother who was _never _there, until the Elf, Twinkie, fetched her. Maybe that was why Mummy didn't need an Elf, she was always there when needed, but Mother needed an extra reminder.

Her voice jolted Ron from his nap on his bed on the other side of the room, and he immediately began fussing and crying, much to Ginny's disapproval. She never saw him when Mother was around, but he was _so _much older than her, he should _know _not to cry by know.

"Stop!" She commanded him, talking to him like Twinkie. "Bad, Ron. No cry!"

If anything, Ron started crying louder, and began to shout for Mummy about how stupid Ginny was bothering him, and that Mummy should make her be quiet.

Mummy entered the room quickly, picking Ron up from his bed and holding him tight, only causing Ron to squirm and fuss more. "What's the matter, dearies?" Mummy asked, wearily, looking from Ginny to Ron expectantly.

Ron began to complain first, ears turning bright red. "Ginny woke me up, and then she kept being stupid and noisy! Why can't I have my own room, she won't _shut up! _I'm almost five–"

"Ron, cry!" Ginny interrupted, ignoring the voice that sounded like Mother reminding her not to interrupt anyone older than her. "Bad!"

"It was Ginny's fault, though, she was being noisy and–" Ron started again, only to be stopped by Mummy.

"Now, Ron, I'm sure you can make do with sharing a room a little longer, your sister didn't mean to wake you, and Ginny, darling, it's perfectly alright to cry. How about we try to get along better, like big kids, okay?"

Ron nodded fervently and Ginny grumbled an assent–_which Mother would _never _let her get away with–_and Mummy left the room, leaving the two children by themselves again.

Ron settled back into his bed, shooting Ginny one last poisonous glare, closing his eyes–_probably to meet Mother_–and turning away.

It was only after Ron was fast asleep that she realized that Mummy had told her it was alright to cry when she knew it wasn't, because Mother would be mad. But Ron had cried, and he didn't seem worried about Mother getting mad. Ginny shook her head, confused, resolving not to think about it until she was older–_because like Mother said, some things you need to be bigger to understand–_and settled for playing with the pretty plushie on her bed. Still, in the back of her mind, some part of her began to see the differences between Mummy and Mother, and she began to wonder, if maybe, just maybe Ron didn't see Mother too.

She would ask him later, she decided. For now, Mr. Teddy needed a hug.

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><p>"Be safe, Bill" Mummy sniffed loudly as Ginny watched the exchange in absolute horror. This was not appropriate behavior for outside the house! Inside it was okay, but <em>this, <em>this made them look like mudblooded _filth!_

Daddy grabbed Bill into a crushing hug, pulling him tight, voice also choked. Maybe this was a special occasion?

(_Bundled in heavy robes, scarf tight against her face, breath heavy in the cold air, nodding politely as stiff goodbyes were exchanged. "We expect to see you in Slytherin, Bella."_)

No, not a tear had been shed when she left for Hogwarts, though her mother had seemed exceptionally proud, especially after the Sirius incident, bragging on about how all three of _her _daughters had made it into the right house…

What? She wasn't going to be sorted for _ages, _and she only had one sister, Andy, not two. Who was Sirius, anyway?

"I'll miss you, Gin-gin," Bill interrupted her, ruffling her red curls with a smile.

Ginny frowned at the nickname but still smiled back. Bill was nice enough, he never tripped her or pushed her around like Ron or the Twins.

"Bye, Billiam" She grinned as he grimaced at the name, "Watch out for the mudbloods!"

Mummy and Daddy froze and Ginny looked at their disapproving faces, confused.

"Where did you hear that word, Ginerva?"

"But–but," Ginny began to babble at Daddy's icy tone, "I tell Father that every day before he goes to work, and he always smiles–and that's what Mother calls them and she says that me and Andy are better than them so we should stay away from them and–" Ginny froze as her parents faces got darker with each word, and trailed off, puzzled. It was only a _word._

Finally Mummy spoke again, face red. "You have never used that word in front of either of us before, and we would _not _encourage it."

"What, no! Not you,Mother and Father." Ginny explained, growing upset.

"We are your mother and father–" Mummy began angrily, only to be cut off by Daddy.

"No, explain, Ginny, what did you mean by mother and father, because I have _never _used that word in my life!"

"You know, when you close your eyes and instead of us it's me and Andy and Mother and Father, and I'm Bella and I have dark hair and we have an elf, Trixie." Ginny answered.

Mummy looked relieved, much to Ginny's pleasure. She probably just forgot about Mother and Father, just like Mother sometimes forgets to feed Andy and needs to be reminded by the elf, sometimes–

"Ginny, dear, I don't know what you're dreaming about, but it's not real. So you shouldn't listen to anything people in dreams say." Mummy began, "That means no repeating that word ever again."

Ron laughed loudly, pointing at Ginny with a chubby finger, "Ginny's crazy! Dreams aren't _real, _stupid!"

Charlie shot her a strange look, while Bill ruffled her hair with a patronizing smile, the Twins joining Ron in his laughter, only Percy giving her a sympathetic glance. Meanwhile Ginny looked on in abject horror. They…weren't…real…? _No!_

She turned away with new resolve, _Mother _was always calling her stubborn, and she would show them. Mother was _real_ and she liked Mother _better _than these stupid not-mudbloods.

She'd teach them to laugh at Bellatrix Black–

(_Lestrange, the thought rose unbidden to her mind._)

She'd teach them to laugh at Ginerva Weasley.

She'd be the one laughing in the end.

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><p><strong>Next chapter should go to age four to nine, and then we can get started on Harry Potter and Hogwarts. Yes, Ginny will be evil, I just don't see Molly Weasley being enough of an influence to stop Bellatrix from going dark. She wasn't all smiles and sparkles before Azkaban. R &amp; R<strong>

**~Mittzi**


	3. Chapter 2

**I had a lot more written, but I didn't like the way it came out and it's been a long time since I updated so I'll just stick to this for now. Tell me how you feel about it! ;)**

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><p>Ginny giggled as she played with a doxy, pulling it's wings off one at a time as it let out a high-pitched shriek of pain.<p>

_("So cute, calling for help, nothing can save you now, Alice, darling…")_

Ginny ignored the voices in the back of her head, pushing them away with practiced ease. The voices were part of Bella, she knew, but parts she hadn't _been _yet. She didn't understand it herself, but if it wasn't going to change anytime soon she would take advantage of it. Like any good Slytherin would. To help Him…

…Who?

Not important. Just the voice.

The doxy let out another squeal as she pinched it between her thumb and forefinger, watching, transfixed as it deflated with a sigh, small black innards smearing across her fingers.

"Crucio," She whispered, reminded of a distant memory of _happiness/horror/screaming/pain _catching another doxy in her palm, capturing it from its hiding place under her bed.

"Crucio, cruciocrucio!" The last came out an angry hiss as she watched the doxy struggle, small black wings flapping uselessly. She giggled once more at its hopeless screams of pain as she killed it quickly before turning towards her bed for another one.

"Crucio"

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><p>In a dark, high-security cell in the heart of Azkaban prison, a man sat huddled over, tattered rags covering his battered frame as he shuddered under the oppressive presence of the Dementors. His eyes were haunted, his face gaunt and pale and his teeth yellow in cracked as he screamed in horror as memories of things–<em>I just want to forget, please, pleasepleaseplease–<em>rushed through his mind.

(_Let me forget, let me forget, even if I go mad just let me FORGET!_)

And the Dementor swooped on by, continuing its never-ending patrol, sparing not a second glance for the forbidden soul as it mades its rounds through the prison and ignoring the whispers that started up again as it passed.

The man gave a hysterical laugh as the monster passed him, marking another scratchy line against the wall. Another day of patrols, over. One at a time, one at a time.

A lone spider made its way across the room on an extensive web, catching his vision out of the corner of his eye, and in one quick movement he snatched it up, cupping it with deceiving gentleness in its palm.

"Crucio!" He hissed with all the anger he could muster in this hopeless place, squishing the bug between his fingers with a smile. "Crucio" He repeated a little longer, the single word acknowledgement that he was still there, still here, still _real._

Through the bars of his grimy cell he could hear the hiss repeated by familiar voice after voice, only eleven remained of their original fourteen, not counting him of course, Bella and Barty having died long ago. (_Save those thoughts for the Dementors, Rodolphus_) He reminded himself, answering the echoing call that was repeated through the prison, their only pleasure in the midst of eternal torment.

"Crucio," He snarled, the Dark Lord will come for us, because we are here, and we are _faithful. _

"Crucio," His brother repeated through the bars of his cell, voice filled with as much raw hope.

"Crucio!" Dolohov, voice louder than all the others shouted from across the damp hallway, and he could see blood flying through the bars of his cell. Was he lucky enough to get a rat again?

"Crucio" Another voice responded, hope evident and voice choked with tears, an expression of weakness that he would have sneered at, had the circumstances been different. But the Mark remained, the Lord will return, and…

_("He will reward the faithful!" Bella's psychotic scream reverberated through the empty courtroom as the Dementors moved forward to grasp them, pulling them towards their new home, an eternal prison. The last time he ever saw her.)_

The Dementors had returned.

"Crucio" He hissed, only one more time, just go through it one more time. The Master will come, just wait one more time.

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><p>"Do you want to hear a bedtime story, Ginny, dear?" Mummy asked with a smile as she tucked Ginny in.<p>

Ginny nodded enthusiastically, Mother never gave her bedtime stories, so it was really special whenever Mummy did.

"Well then, what would you like to hear about? Harry Potter?" Mummy questioned.

Ginny shrugged down the sudden burst of anger–_hatehatehate mixed with a pang of unimaginable loss–_that came with the name, "Who's he, Mummy?" She asked, biting her tongue to keep from finishing her question, Why does he effect me so?

"Harry Potter is a hero, Ginny. He saved us all from a very bad man named You-Know-Who who wanted to kill all the muggles and muggleborns. We fought to protect them, and then, when he was just a baby Harry Potter defeated him." Mummy explained, kindly.

Ginny didn't understand why they would fight against someone that wanted to kill the muggles and mudbloods but didn't ask. Maybe because she knew Harry would defeat him? That made sense, it was always good to be on the winning side. Mummy was weird about things like that, she was a Gryffindor after all, so she was probably doing it out of something _stupid _like honor. Why would she _care? _She wasn't as weird as Daddy, though, always going on about weird muggle things.

_(Bloodtraitor, just like Sirius.)_

But…Potter was a pureblood name, and he must have been really strong if he defeated such a strong man… "Potter?" She asked, just to make sure.

"Yes, his father was James Potter, a boy I went to school with from an ancient line of Gryffindors, and his mother was a girl named Lily Evans."

"Evans?"

"She was a muggle-born, dearest. That's why He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named went after them." Molly explained with a sad frown.

_Mudblood! _That meant he was a filthy half-blood! "No Mummy, I don't wanna hear about him." She whined.

"Alright, then." Mummy amended, "What would you like to hear about?"

"Tell me…" Ginny trailed off, "Tell me about You-Know-Who…" _The Dark Lord, so powerful/wonderful/amazing/handsome/dark it brought shivers to her spine, _"And about Bellatrix Black…Lestrange. Bellatrix Lestrange." _His most trusted advisor, closest follower, most loyal and most faithful, _"The Dark Lord's right hand."

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><p><em>Ginny awoke as Bella, still giddy from the stories Mummy had painted for her, and couldn't stop herself from bouncing up and down inside her mind as Bella slowly, sloooowly got out of bed, yawning. She ignored the wave of tiredness that passed through Bella towards herself, she was <em>already _asleep. _

_A glance outside showed her the sun had barely risen, and she frowned, kicking out at the house-elf that had been sent to wake her. What could Mother want this early? _

_She padded down the hallway, kicking at Andy's door as she passed and laughing as she heard Andy's tired complaint. So it was only her Mother called for. _

_"Be quiet, or I'll tell Mother you woke me!" Andy whined through the door, her voice slightly muffled by a pillow._

_Ginny frowned, she didn't like Andy, always a little tattletale._

_ "Mother called for me, I was just going to her, I don't know _what _you're talking about." She proclaimed with fake innocence, before following the madly-gesturing house-elf down the hall. Mother had been out for a day or so with Father, something about another sister. She hoped she didn't have _another _one, and Mother was just getting fat like Mummy instead. She didn't know if she could stand someone else like Andy all day._

_Finally Trixie stopped in front of one of the un-used rooms that Mother had forbade Bella from entering almost a year ago, and stepped back to allow her inside. Bella pushed open the heavy door with a small grunt, glaring at the useless house-elf, it was _heavy!

_Ginny's heart sank as Bella opened the door to a newly painted nursery that looked just like Andy's had when she was little. It was no fair, she didn't _want _another one. Mother was cradling something small and pinched in her arms with a small smile that only grew wider as she saw Bella walk in._

_"Bella, meet your sister, Narcissa." She said with a tired smile, holding up the thing in her arms to show a baby. It looked different then Andy, with big, blue eyes that were staring up at her with wide-eyed innocence. Bella reached out a finger to touch her, almost squeaking in shock when Narcissa's tiny fingers wrapped around hers._

_"Hi, Cissy." She whispered, still staring at the baby with wide eyes, it was _cute. _No, no, it was evil, evil! It would be just like Andy, stupid and loud and a tattletale and–_

_The baby let out a bubbly giggle, blue eyes half closing and Ginny felt a wave of possessiveness sweep over her. It was _her _stupid, loud, annoying, tattletale to-be. _Mine.

_"Would you like to hold her, Bella?" Her mother asked gently, wand at the ready as Bella nodded, placing the wrapped bundle in her arms._

Mine.

* * *

><p>Barty Crouch Jr. shivered in the midst of the personal ecstasy that always surrounded him as a voice sounded in his ear.<p>

"Hide." It commanded, "Get under the cloak and stay out of the way." The voice nudged and prodded, a slightly threatening tone behind it, warning him that if he disobeyed the happiness would go away and he would be left like before.

_Like before? _He wondered, and the voice grew more insistent.

"Hide. Get under the cloak and stay out of the way. Go into the attic. Don't come out. Tell Winky if you need something." The voice commanded, and he obeyed, relishing in the sense of happiness that filled him as the voice was contented and once again allowed pleasure to seep into the air.

He was supposed to hate the voice, supposed to fight it, but why would he do that, when it was so wonderful to obey? He had never felt like this _before,_ when he resisted, so free, so happy, lost in his own personal paradise. It was beautiful.

_(She was on the floor, screaming, writhing, twitching, begging for mercy. "Crucio!" He hissed, laughing as ecstasy rushed through his veins. _

_"Well done, Barty." A female voice from behind his ear spoke, with an amused lilt, and he smirked, aiming his wand once more._

_"Crucio!" Scream, screamscreamscream, it won't save you now!)_

"No." The voice commanded, and just like that the memory was gone, and Barty was filled with a momentary sense of loss, before the foreign happiness swept through him once more and he turned towards the attic to obey the voice.

_Why did he feel like he was missing something?_

"Good, now stay silent. Do not move."

_Something…important?_

"Don't think."

Bliss took over once more.

* * *

><p>Ginny traced the family tree with her pinky absentmindedly as she searched out the names on her list. She was eight now, nearly nine and she was finished <em>waiting until she was older <em>to understand.

With the Twins now in their second year of Hogwarts the house was practically empty, Ron spending the majority of his days in the back yard or his room, never sparing a second glance for his annoying/creepy/evil/stupid/girly (all interchangeable in his mind) little sister. He would be leaving in two years, while she would have to wait an entire three, a fact which he loved to rub in, when he wasn't fantasizing about how he would be the ruler of the world or Harry Potter's best mate.

Harry Potter. She would never understand what anyone saw in him. Her mother continued to praise his name, and had managed to work tales of his heroism into almost every conversation she had with Ginny, no matter the topic.

Wizarding history: check. (_"You know Ginny, dear, if Harry Potter had been alive at the time of the Dark Lord Grindewald, we wouldn't have needed Dumbledore at all!"_) Mathematics: check. (_"Now, let's go over our multiplication now, alright? One–that's the age Harry Potter defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, you know–times any number will equal the same number."_) Pureblood customs–which this household was surely lacking in, Mother would scream: check. (_"Most pureblood ladies in those evil houses are encouraged to find suitable pureblood husbands. Good thing we aren't one of those horrible homes of Dark magic, dearest, or you would _never _be allowed to marry Harry Potter, the darling boy."_)

That one had particularly vexed her as she liked to consider herself a subject of one of those _horrible homes of dark magic, _but she calmed herself with the knowledge that she would _fix _the Weasley family and name, until their title demanded just as much respect as the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black did. If all of the muggle and mudblood lovers in _this _house refused to do it, then she would.

She loved her parents, from both families, really, she did, but it was so hard to understand the Weasley side sometimes. She'd tried, _hard, _dedicated weeks to playing around with Arthur's muggle-toys, instead of just denouncing them as useless like she thought they were, but she _still _didn't understand his fascination. Maybe it was the way the Black family made sure she lived up to expectations, echoed their opinions and believed in their ideals, but as long as she didn't display her _dislike _of muggles and mud–gleborns openly her Weasley family seemed not to worry, but she found herself appreciating the Black ways more.

That wasn't to say she wasn't proud of being a Weasley. She was. Well, actually, she wasn't. But she would fix that. The Weasley name had gone to ruin, and was now an object of ridicule. People laughed at the Weasleys to their face, their home had gone to ruin, and they had barely a galleon left in Gringotts. She would change that. People would fear her name, respect it, she would change _everything. _Even if the rest of the Weasleys, her mum and dad included didn't understand, she refused to let them go to waste.

In Bella's time (for she was almost certain it had been a time long ago, maybe it was reincarnation?) the Weasley name, though not highly thought of, still commanded some form of respect. A recently born babe named Arthur Weasley–lending credence to her time travel/reincarnation theory on the inexplicable things that happened to her–was the first son of Septimus Weasley and Thalia Weasley, née Black. Thalia hadn't been _disowned _per say, as he _was _a pureblood, reasonably well off, and from an ancient line, but she was the subject of much gossip according to her mother. Still, if a Black had chosen to marry him, he couldn't have been that bad. Certainly not a muggle-loving fool like his son had turned out to be.

"A-ha!" She exclaimed aloud, nearly crowing in delight as she was jerked from her thoughts by her success. Beneath her finger in the flowing gold script that adorned the walls of Grimmauld place–the home of the heir, Sirius, who was around Cissy's age, and little Reggie, a year younger–was the name she had been searching for. _Bellatrix Lestrange, January 15, 1954–January 15,1982. _After she had been imprisoned to Azkaban for (_544 days…_) her mind supplied, she died on her _birthday. _What a crummy day that must have been.

She pushed down the thought almost the moment it crossed her mind, but it was too late, because for a couple terrifying moments during which her mind would not respond and it was all Bella, she could feel the damp grime of Azkaban on her skin, hear the prisoner's tortured cries, and see the hooded face moving closer as she screamed in terror and agony.

It was only when her hand began to throb that she realized she had dropped the ancient book filled with self-updating family tree after tree onto her unoccupied hand that had been lying on the table. She hastily snatched the heavy tome up with her other hand, bringing her fingers to her lips with a pout.

_Well, that was one question answered, _Ginny thought as she sucked on her swelling fingers. _Only around one hundred-thousand left._

She traced the lines from her parents to her one more time before moving her gaze to check on her sisters and cousins. She hoped little Cissy was doing alright. Molly didn't discuss any Deatheaters anymore, now that she was too old for bedtime stories, except occasionally to spew venom about Lucius Malfoy, Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange–_she always pushed back the lump in her throat._

She knew Sirius was rotting in a high-security Azkaban cell from all her rants on what a horrible person he was, (_"To do something so despicable to Lily and James, I can't believe it! Harry Potter's parents, you know."_) but she had no idea what had happened to the rest of her family.

But she would find them now, and…contact them? No. Not yet. She didn't know enough yet, they knew twenty-eight year old Bellatrix Lestrange. She was eight-almost nine year old Bella Black. But she would find a way to regain her memories so she could see them again as herself. First, though, she needed to learn how to unlock her memories, and she knew she couldn't do it alone.

_I need help, _she thought, broadcasting the thought as loudly as she could, and waiting, hoping for a response from the part of her that was Bellatrix. Then she closed her eyes and waited, even if it was just a memory, anything was better than nothing.

_(The Dark Lord leaned against his throne, casual and composed even as his long fingers snaked over the handle of his wand, red eyes burning as he surveyed his loyal followers. His dark hair was sticking against his brow, nostrils flaring slightly with each carefully controlled breath he took._

_"You have failed me, Selwyn." The man in question shook slightly and she sneered beneath her mask. Weak._

_"Master–Master, I–I just–" He stammered, still not looking up from where he knelt, bent before the Dark Lord._

_"Sssilence!" He hissed, s's sibilant and drawn out, nearly reverting into parseltongue in his anger. "Lord Voldemort does not tolerate failure. I have offered you everything. Given you everything. And you failed me. You will be punished."_

_"Oh–Of, of course, M–Mas–" He didn't finish the word before being interrupted by the Dark Lord once more._

_"Crucio!")_

_Not good enough!_ Ginny frowned as she replayed the memory in her mind. How was watching the Dark Lord torture his followers going to help her? Maybe she had phrased the question poorly and Bellatrix had just given her a random memory? _Who will help me? _She asked silently, pushing against the edge of her consciousness at the wall beyond which she _knew _the rest of Bellatrix lay.

_("My Lord, I would ask a favor?" Lucius asked from across the table where the rest of the Inner Circle sat, pensive._

_The Dark Lord nodded his head, turning to focus his undivided attention on Lucius as his serpent slithered across his lap, hissing quietly, words that only the Dark Lord could hear._

_"Narcissa is pregnant, Milord." Lucius said, slowly, and Bellatrix's head shot up in surprise. Cissa hadn't told her that! Well, she had just came back from a long mission, and Cissa had invited her over for tea tonight…perhaps she would tell her then? She better! Stupid not-so-little-anymore-sister, keeping secrets. Bellatrix had to resist the urge to stick out her tongue and pout, as it was she sulked back into her chair a little bit._

_"I was wondering if I could…take a few days rest to spend with her?" The blond aristocrat's voice interrupted her train of thought with his question, and suddenly all eyes were focused on the Dark Lord, any other conversations put on hold to see his answer._

_The Dark Lord eyed him skeptically for a moment, with those burning red eyes as though searching for something before nodding, as if satisfied. "Of course Lucius. You have served me well, and I always reward my followers." He paused to look around the entire room at all the people sitting comfortably on the long table. "Especially those of you here, my most trusted. You should not hesitate to come to me with any requests such as this one. Let it not be said that I do not treat any of you fairly."_

_There was a murmured assent from around the table and a grateful thanks from Lucius as Bellatrix smiled at her husband, and his brother next to him. She was on the right side she knew, and as long as you were on His side the Dark Lord was generous, kind, and merciful. But if you weren't…well, she didn't envy the Potters, that was for sure.)_

Ginny's frown deepened as the memory cut off and the invisible barrier between her and Bellatrix strengthened again, a guard against any intrusions that would only last until she closed her eyes, at which point she would have no conscious way to view different memories, rather reliving her life day by day, without any time for nights.

What good was that memory? It wasn't helpful at all! Though it did go to show that her mum and dad on the Weasley side were wrong, _He _was perfect, not _Harry-bloody-Potter. _He was very generous too, always offering his followers more power, and rewarding them when they did well, unlike Dumbledore who allowed them to rot in poverty despite all that her mum's family had given to him during the war.

Still, how to regain her memories…? Going into Bellatrix's mind was useless, as all her memories involved the Dark Lord, and how would that help?

…Unless…

Yes, that was it. She would find the Dark Lord–mum was always saying he wasn't _truly _dead–and He would reward her for her service as Bellatrix Lestrange, then she would bring him back to power as His most faithful, and he would help her bring back glory to the Weasley name.

It was perfect. It could not fail. She threw back her head and let out a hysterical laugh that would have made Scabbers cringe in remembrance of the pain that had always followed that laugh in the past, had he been there to see it.

…

Now all she needed to do was find the Dark Lord.

…

Maybe she'd need a little more help with that part of the plan.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so I'll just clarify a couple of things that some people might find confusing:<strong>

**1) I refuse to believe the Dark Lord always looked like some sort of snake/human hybrid. He would have gotten no followers. In my story that will just have been a side effect of dying and coming back to life.**

**2) I tried to explain how Ginny feels about her family, but I'll put it straight: She loves them, but doesn't agree with their views because, honestly, can you see Molly Weasley comparing the Lady Black? The Weasleys are just content to let her be who she wants, because they are sure she won't pick up any bigotry in _their _house (even though she does, lol) whereas the Blacks _will not _have a daughter that likes mudbloods and muggles.**

**Actually, they will, but Andromeda doesn't really feel that way yet.**

**I'm going to try to put in some more Black Family time and Weasley interaction next chapter, and you'll definitely get a little bit of Peter Pettigrew and Harry Potter! Also, how does everyone feel about the line breaks? Do they look annoying to you or is that me? Should I do the *Chapter Break Here* thing that many people seem to do? **

**R&R**

**~Mitzzi**


	4. Chapter 3

**Whew. The chapters just keep getting longer :) **

**Just to clear some things up before this chapter starts, Ginny has _no _idea why she has Bellatrix's memories, so she just chalks it up to some sort of Reincarnation thing and goes with the flow. This might seem weird to you, but she grew up living every day like that, so it is perfectly normal to her.**

**Finally some _real _Black family interaction in this chapter, though I still haven't gotten around to giving either of the fathers any lines. **

**We finally catch up a bit to cannon in this chapter!**

* * *

><p>"Now, what's the platform number again?" Molly asked as they hurried through the station, caught in the last minute rush of muggles heading off to work. The question was obviously directed at her, and Ginny threw her mother a dirty look. Treating her like a child, it's not like she was going to <em>forget <em>the platform number for the Hogwarts Express! Her mum hadn't either, she was just trying to make Ginny feel included, or some rot.

Ginny didn't need her mum's pathetic attempts at family bonding. She was not jealous at all that Ron was finally going off to Hogwarts and she was going to be left all alone. Not one bit. What was there to be jealous of? Not the fact that he was finally going to be allowed to do magic. She had been doing that in her dreams as Bella on her mother's wand since she was nine.

No, she wasn't jealous at all. Well, maybe a little. But her mum wasn't helpingby reminding her that she wasn't able to go yet, because she was still a _little girl. _

"Ginny, dear, platform number?" Her mother asked, oblivious to the homicidal turn in Ginny's thoughts as she fantasized about teaching the world that she wasn't a child.

"Nine and three-quarters." She said dully, leveling another glare at her mother's happily unaware back. _Only one more year…_

Percy, seemingly the only one picking up on her vicious thoughts shot her a sympathetic glance, mouthing 'I'll write,' as they headed towards the barrier. She beamed back at him gratefully. She liked Percy a lot, despite the Twins constant badmouthing of him, and felt she could relate with being the 'lonerof the family,' though people were content to ignore her 'bookishness' because she was the only girl in the family, whereas Percy was teased mercilessly for the same traits.

Sometimes she thought he would have done better in Ravenclaw, he was extremely intelligent and followed rules to the dot, but he also had a cunning ambition and quick wit that could have landed him in Slytherin. But he had dashed her hopes when–as he confessed to her privately later–he had convinced the hat to place him in Gryffindor, as he didn't want to be a(nymore of a) disappointment to the family.

Ginny had wisely kept her mouth shut, keeping herself from voicing the opinion that not being placed in Gryffindor would have made him the first in the family to _not _be a disappointment.

So lost in her musings was she, she didn't notice when a short boy around Ron's age, dressed in over large clothes with cracked glasses covering up nervous green eyes had approached them, until he began to speak. "Er…you said, platform–platform nine and three-quarters?" He mumbled quietly, glancing around at their trolleys filled with wizarding equipment.

Mudblood, obviously, if he didn't know the way.

Ginny turned away, set to ignore his existence as father, Cygnus had warned her to do, (_"I wouldn't suggest antagonizing them until you know a few more spells, Bella. For now just be content to ignore them. They don't deserve the attention of purebloods like you."_) only to jolt in shock as her mum gave the boy a warm smile.

"First time, dear?" Molly asked kindly, already taking pity on the scrawny looking boy, while Ginny looked on in carefully hidden horror. She wasn't rude enough to challenge her mother in public,especially not in front of a mudblood–wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea–but this was inconceivable. She knew her mother never spouted blood purity ideals, but to actually _help _one?

The boy nodded, and besides her Percy sighed as he watched his mum pick up another charity case, not that they could afford to do so. He didn't seem nearly as surprised as she was about the blood status, merely resigned and a bit upset that Molly seemed so willing to help everyone when they only had _minutes _left to get the the platform.

"Well, come along then." Molly said, ushering the boy into line besides Ron. "It's Ron's first time too."

Once again the boy merely nodded, lowering his eyes slightly as if embarrassed, and Ginny glared at him through narrowed eyes. Was he even going to talk? To thank them for helping him even though he was a useless mudblood that didn't deserve a second of their time? Obviously not, though one would think muggles would at least teach their spawn some manners!

They reached the innocuous looking platform shortly and Molly ushered Percy and the Twins towards it. "Fred will show you how it's done, won't you dear?" She asked, giving the boy a pointed look as if daring him to disagree.

"Mum!" He complained, glaring at her with fake anger, "I'm George, not Fred. Honestly, you think you would remember your own son's name."

"Sorry, darling," Molly replied, not looking surprised at all at her inability to tell them apart. "Go on George."

"Just kidding, I'm Fred." The twin–whichever one it really was–said with a mischievous grin before heading towards the barrier at a full out sprint.

Ginny shot the mudblood another scornful glance as he winced, before gaping in awe as Fred disappeared through it. George went next, followed quickly by Percy who merely leaned against the barrier until it gave way beneath him, and he too disappeared. The mudblood let out a startled "Wow…"_You would think he would have at least bothered to read up on our customs, _she thought with a disdainful sniff. _How did he _expect _to get to the train?_

"Best go at it at a bit of a run, dears. Ron will go with you if you're nervous." Molly said, once again oblivious to her daughter's train of thought as she smiled encouragingly at the mudblood. He was still gaping, but managed to shut his jaw long enough to stammer some form of thanks and awe, before taking off towards the barrier, Ron following behind him.

Once the two had disappeared into the platform, Molly reached for Ginny's hand to go through as well, but Ginny wrenched it away quickly. She wasn't rude enough to argue or go against her mum in public, but she _certainly _wasn't going to be babied. That's what her mum had the mudblood for, after all.

Ginny casually strolled up to the barrier, refusing to abandon her long-taught pureblood pride by running at it like some commoner. She passed through it quickly, shivering slightly as she passed through open space where a wall should have been.

Molly followed quickly behind her, shooting Ginny a sad glance from the corner of her eye. Ginny turned away quickly, swallowing the guilt that threatened to rise within her. She hated being babied, but at the same time she didn't like to upset her mum.

Eventually Molly turned towards Percy, sending him off with a quick kiss on the cheek, before turning towards Ron to wipe some dirt off of his nose. He struggled away from her, glaring indignantly, and hissing a quiet protest of, "Mum, I'm not a baby anymore!"

Molly ignored him, dabbing away at the mud with a small handkerchief, before giving up and enfolding him in a long hug. "Be good, dearest," She whispered, now using the handkerchief to wipe away tears that threatened to fall. "We'll all miss you, won't we, Ginny?"

Ginny hummed in agreement, barely paying attention as she surveyed the rest of the station. This was Harry Potter's first year, and she wanted to get a glimpse of the so-called savior before they left. He had to be something impressive to have defeated the Dark Lord.

To the left she saw a pretty fair-haired girl in brand new robes that looked to be entering her first year, another girl, maybe a year younger was hugging her goodbye as two parents watched on with hidden smiles. The girl moved with an obvious grace that years of good breeding produced (and had been beaten into the Blacks from the moment they could walk) and had high, prominent cheekbones, large blue eyes and a small, pointed nose. _Pureblood._

To their immediate right stood another boy that seemed about Ron's age. He had straight, slightly shaggy brown hair, and a nervous smile on his face as he surveyed the platform. He was dressed in muggle clothing, robes draped over the side of a brand new trunk as he took in his surroundings with glee. A muggle woman was standing besides him with a far more reserved smile, eyes shifting back and forth nervously. _Mudblood._

A silver-blond head caught her eye through the crowd, and she watched as a tall, powerful man strode towards a woman and a boy who could only be his wife and son. The crowd parted before him, most with respectful nods, and Ginny could hear Molly hiss angrily, "Lucius–!" This caught Ginny's attention as she watched the antagonist of her mum's bedtime stories lean to press a kiss against his wife's cheek before placing a hand on his son's shoulder.

The boy was wearing crestless robes, signifying that this would also be his first year. He had sharp, pointed features and slicked blond hair, but it was the eyes that caught her attention. Grey, slightly slanted, haughty eyes surveyed the platform with a look of slight disdain, and Ginny felt her breath catch it her throat. Those were Black eyes, Regulus' eyes. This had to be _her_ child, then.

The boy leaned up to brush a kiss against his mother's cheek, and as she turned to give him a slightly-reserved hug–as was appropriate for public situations–Ginny caught a glimpse of her face. _Narcissa Malfoy, _the tapestry had read, and she had heard of her pregnancy in Bella's memories from Lucius himself, but it was still shocking to see her sweet, barely six year old sister as a grown woman standing right in front of her. Ginny turned away quickly as Cissy–no, Narcissa now, straightened abruptly and glanced around, as though feeling someone's eyes on her, and, with a lot of effort, Ginny turned her attention back to her mum.

"Don't get in to too much trouble!" Molly was telling the twins, her tone indicating how unlikely she thought that would be, and they grinned sheepishly at the rebuke in unison.

"Of course not," The-one-she-thought-was-George laughed, "We'll send you a toilet seat from Hogwarts, Gin-gin!"

Ginny frowned at them as her mum spluttered indignantly about all the rules that would be breaking. She had never liked the twins much, so brash and loud with all their pranks and jokes, they were the epitome of Gryffindor, and never especially kind to her. It didn't help that every time she saw them she would be reminded of Sirius and feel a pang of sharp hate that the annoying-brat-of-a-five-year-old certainly didn't deserve. _Yet. _Bella reminded her, and Ginny shrugged it off, they probably had just been on bad terms before her death.

"We saw _Harry Potter, _you know." Fred (or was it?) said quietly, and Ginny started, exited.

"Really, where?" She demanded, scanning the crowd again for someone she had missed. He would be dressed in the finest of clothes of course, the Potter's were and old family. An old _rich _family, not like the Weasleys. Probably with his guardian or guardians, who would certainly be wizards, and he would have a distinctive scar on his face. He shouldn't be that hard to see, everyone was probably clamoring for his attention right now anyway, she just needed to find a big group of exited fans…

"That boy we helped onto the platform," The same twin continued loudly, and Molly sent him a rebuking glance.

"Don't lie to me, dear. Ginny's very excited to see him, and the poor boy we helped earlier doesn't want misled people fawning all over him–" Molly began, ignoring Ginny's indignant bristling. She would not _fawn _over a halfblood! Though her mum did have a good point, there was _no _way that was Potter.

"It is!" The other twin insisted, practically shouting. Several heads turned in their direction and he quieted, blushing.

"We saw his scar–" Definitely-Fred continued for him.

"And everything! Helped him into–" Has-to-be-George interrupted.

"A compartment, and there it was–"

"Smack in the middle of his face–"

"A great, big, lightning bolt scar!"

Molly gasped in shock, "Oh, the poor dear! I wonder why he didn't know how to get onto the platform then? He looked so lost, poor little boy, probably not used to all of the attention. He has been hidden from the wizarding world for most of his life, he probably didn't know what to expect, and oh–I thought he was just a lost muggleborn, but he must have been so overwhelmed…" She trailed off, practically gushing in excitement.

Meanwhile Ginny stared blankly at the train, as though hoping to see his face pop out one of the windows. It was impossible. Inconceivable, really. There was no way. None at all. The savior of the wizarding world was _not _that bedraggled looking mudblood. Unfeasible. Absurd. People weren't putting their hopes on _that! _Unthinkable. Ridiculous. That couldn't be…no way. But it was.

Molly glanced at her watch, and suddenly shrieked loudly. "Hurry, boys, the trains about to leave!" She made shooing motions with her arms, "Go on, wouldn't want to miss it!" She gathered them up for one last hug before they hurried away, sniffing loudly at their retreating backs. Ginny had still not moved from her position, staring blankly at the train that was readying itself to leave, before visibly pulling herself together with a mental shrug.

_At least I'm not on their side. I knew I chose right._

* * *

><p><em>Bella was dolled up in expensive dress that she hated, but wore proudly because she knew it was a signal of their status that each one of their outfits costed more than her Weasley family had in their vault at Gringotts. Ginny was wearing pale pink, while Andy was wearing light green and Cissy a sky-blue. She thought it made her look stupid and young, but she knew better than to argue with her mother.<em>

_Sirius was there too, in expensive dress robes that had been adorned with red and gold. She thought it was bloodtraitor colors, like Gryffindor, but her mother Druella was always complaining about how much Sirius' father, Orion Black, babied him, so she was sure that he threw a fit until he was allowed to wear what he wanted. Ginny thought it was a bad sign that _that _was what he wanted to wear._

_Everyone ignored her, of course, because she _was _slightly biased on the matter. She hated him, after all. Well, darling little Cissy listened to her, and lapped it up with glares in Sirius' direction, but Cissy didn't count because everyone knew that Cissy would do anything for Bella. They didn't know it went both ways, though, because Ginny was smart enough to hide her weakness like a real Slytherin. _

_She hated Sirius though, hated him with a burning passion that she wasn't smart enough to hide, because he was heir, and would become Lord Black, and he didn't _want _it. She knew she would never rule the family because she was a girl, and sometimes she hated herself for that too, but most of the time she hated Sirius. She hated him because if he cared for his position, and treasured it, she would understand–be jealous, yes, but understand–but he didn't. He didn't even care. He ranted about how he didn't want to listen to the boring business talks, even though he was the only child important enough to be allowed into his father's study at all. He whined about how he didn't _care _if he has to set a good example, because he wanted to playplayplay, not learn Latin. _

_And Ginny hated him, because she _knew _she could do better._

_Regulus was also there, in his miniature dress robes that were small enough to fit a house-elf. He was only four, so his mother Walpurga had him seated on her lap as she spoke to her visitor. He didn't make a sound, of course, unless it was required of him, or the visitor asked him a question directly. He might have been too young to be required to play host for the visitor's son like the rest of them, but if he didn't understand his role he wouldn't be allowed out at all._

_The Malfoy's were visiting Grimmauld place, to discuss business with Orion and Cygus, so all of the cousin's were gathered there to play host for his son, Lucius. Lucius was ten, Bella's age, so he would be going with her to Hogwarts next year. She knew she was expected to at least make a casual friendship with him, as they were both from two of the most influential families of the age, but the rest of the children were just there for show, to prove that they were all capable of handling their place in society. After all, it wasn't like Lucius was going to want to talk to five, six or seven year-olds._

_Her Aunt Walpurga and her mother were entertaining Madam Malfoy on the couch, as Regulus watched with wide, grey eyes that Ginny saw only days before at platform nine and three-quarters on a Malfoy's face. She wanted to say something about it, and for the first time since she was a child she tried to change the course of her dream, throwing all her energy into moving the lips that she _feels _but can't influence. She imagined she was opening her mouth to speak, to say anything…but she wasn't. It's impossible. This was just a memory. One she resigned herself to watch with interest._

_The floo flared green and Lord Abraxas Malfoy stepped out, followed shortly afterwards by his son. Lord Malfoy paused momentarily to brush non-existent dust off his finely made robes before sweeping past the children as though they were not there. Uncle Orion and her father greeted him like an old friend and then they were moving away, back to the study for adult talk, leaving the children–including Sirius this time–behind with Lucius._

_He wa also clad in expensive dress robes, though his were trimmed with the green and silver of Slytherin. He had blond hair, much longer than his father's, and it was tied back at the base of his neck with a green ribbon, leaving only a few strands of bangs hanging out. His pale blue eyes surveyed them haughtily, sparing a glance of pure disdain for Sirius' red-trimmed clothes before it turns to a wary respect as he labeled him as the Black heir. He had highly defined cheek bones and an angular face, though not nearly as pointed features as Ginny remembers seeing on his son. Perhaps he got it from Cissy?_

_But Bella was done with her appraisal, and stepped forward, greeting him as she was taught, dropping into a half cursty before him and holding out her hand, "Bellatrix Black."_

_He inclined his head respectfully, taking her hand and pressing it to his lips with a soft sigh, as though he found it just as tedious as she did. He undoubtedly knew who she was already, just as she knew him, so exercise _was _rather pointless. "Lucius Malfoy, a pleasure to make your acquaintance once more."_

_She nodded, and he moved his way down the line to take Andy's hand and then Cissy's. They are lined up by age, so he shook Sirius' hand last. The look Sirius leveled him with as their hands touched was a glare filled with pure disdain, and Bella saw that he was about to cause a fuss, undoubtedly to see how far his immunity as Black heir would take him. Bella was too far away to interrupt in a natural manner, and Cissy far too oblivious to notice, so it was Andy who saved them, quickly distracting Sirius with a casual mention of how Kreacher wasn't busy at the moment. _

_Sirius loved to torment Kreacher, so he took the bait, leading Andy away excitedly. Bella shot her a grateful glance as she left, Andy may be annoying with her Percy-like tendency to follow the rules to a point but she liked Percy, and Andy as well, even if it's less than she liked Cissy. So she definitely doesn't think Andy deserved Sirius for a day, but she would have to keep him busy for as long as Lucius was here. If it was Ginny she would _die, _but Andy liked Sirius, so it would be okay._

_She glanced at her mother to see if she had noticed, but she was in deep conversation with Aunt Wally and Madam Malfoy, heads bent together, whispering excitedly, while Reggie watched on, wide eyes confused. Lucius didn't seem to mind either, he probably sensed the impending disaster too, so she lead him out of the room, Cissy following behind._

_The silence lasted until they reach an empty room, a playroom of some sort that Sirius no longer frequented, and she collapsed onto a plushy chair in the corner of the room, Cissy took the seat besides her, and Lucius couch across from them, lounging across the mini sofa like a king._

_Then the formality was dismissed as Lucius chuckled softly, "This whole visit is a farce, you know."_

_That was news to her. Bella lifted an eyebrow–a talent she happened to be _very _proud of–questioningly. "Oh?"_

_"Yes," He said smugly, proud to know something she doesn't. "There's been some scandal with Weasley family, something about them losing all their money that my mother just couldn't _wait _to discuss with yours. There's no business at all for our father's to take care of either. They just want us to be friendly before Hogwarts." He looked a little disgruntled at that, "Apparently they don't think we will be the best of friends if our fondest memories of each other are from five years ago that we can't remember at all."_

_"We've met you before?" Cissy asked, startled, scrunching up her nose as she tried to remember._

_Ginny could barely remember either and Cissy would have only been a baby, so she merely shrugged. Then she remembered herself and answered, "I don't know, I barely remember either, but what's this about the Weasleys?" _

_"Girls. I have no idea. Ask my _mother_ or something." He snorted, and Bella sighed inaudibly in relief. He didn't notice her slip up. Thank Salazar. Her mother would have a fit if she knew her daughter was shrugging in public again. Her mother was _far _too strict about silly things like that, she got as upset about shrugging in public as she did when Bella occasionally pretended to be a wizard rockstar in her room, singing at the top of her lungs in the middle of the night._

_Cissy was the one who broke the silence next and Ginny mentally thanked her, "Are you excited for Hogwarts next year?" She asked. Lucius answered, a smirk visible on his face and the children relaxed to merely discuss Hogwarts and magic until their parents were ready for them to leave. _

_Hours later when her mother finished discussing whatever had happened to the Weasleys that made Ginny's family so poor in the future with Madam Malfoy and Aunt Wally, Lucius was long gone back to Malfoy Manor, and Lord Malfoy was done with her father and uncle, Bella and Cissy relaxed in Bella's room, Cissy sat on the bed with Bella behind her, brushing a comb through her hair._

_"What did you think of Lucius?" Bella asked, finally, though they both knew the only answer that would be allowed was positive. Still, she wondered what Cissy thought, he _had_ been nice enough to try to include her most of the time, even though she was much younger than him._

_"I'm going to marry him, someday." Cissy stated proudly, and Ginny was shocked. Cissy declared her undying love for almost anyone who entered the house, but this time she was right!_

_Bella didn't know any of that though, so instead she just asked, "Will you really?" in a slightly skeptical tone._

_"Yep," Cissy replied seriously, "He's pretty and I like his hair. I want a baby with pretty hair." _

_"You already have pretty hair." Bella giggled as she examined the way Cissy's hair shone in the light, holding it up for her to see._

_Cissy shook her head, looking at Bella with a patronizing expression that she managed quite well, despite being four years her junior. "But if I marry someone with ugly hair, then my baby won't, and Lucius has the prettiest hair I've ever seen."_

_Bella couldn't help herself anymore and she collapsed onto the bed in giggles, Cissy's indignant protest of "I was serious!" only fueling her laughter._

* * *

><p>Ginny was eating her porridge when an owl rapped at the window. It was the same snowy owl that had been coming to and from the Burrow ever since Ron had left for Hogwarts, and she couldn't help but wonder who he had gotten it from. It was a much better sight that the old family owl, Errol, who could barely make it from his perch to the floor without collapsing.<p>

"Let the owl in, would you, Ginny?" Molly asked from where she sat on the other side of the room, reading the Daily Prophet.

Ginny nodded, moving across the room to lift the latch on the window and allow it inside, but it merely landed on the sill, stretching a leg out for her to take the letter and hooted impatiently. She grabbed the letter of it's leg, and watched it take to the sky before turning away to hand the letter to her mum. Molly waved her away impatiently, absorbed in whatever article was on the front page, "It's only from Ron. Just read it aloud, sweetie."

Ginny turned the letter over in her hands, debating whether or not it was worth fighting with her mum about. Eventually she decided it wasn't, who knew, maybe something interesting had happened at Hogwarts?

She tore off the messy seal and opened it up, unfolding a slightly crumpled piece of parchment. She smoothed the paper once across the table before looking it over to read aloud.

"Dear Mum,

"Yesterday was Halloween and you won't believe what happened! In the middle of the feast Professor Quirrel came running in looking like he'd seen a troll–and he had! He said there was a troll in the Dungeons, then fainted, and Dumbledore told us all to go to our common rooms. We were going to go but then Harry and I remembered that this girl, Hermione Granger was in the bathroom crying because people were bullying her, so we went to go find her, and the troll was there! Me and Harry managed to knock it out, but then Snape, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall showed up.

"I though we were going to get into trouble, but Hermione was nice enough to take the blame, and even though they took off some points we got awarded a bunch as well for saving her! She's super smart, and a muggleborn. I guess we're friends now, I mean, it's hard to go through something like that and not be!" Ginny paused, watching her mum's face which had grown dangerously white as she had read about a troll.

"That's basically it, mum, then it says 'Love, Ron' at the bottom." Ginny said, pausing to reread Ron's letter to herself. "When he says Harry, does he mean Harry Potter?" Ginny questioned, trying to ignore the indignity that came from Ron befriending a mudblood._ It wasn't his fault, he hasn't learned better_, she chanted to herself. She would teach him eventually, once she had restored the Weasley name.

Still, she didn't think even he would befriend the scrawny little mudblood-looking-savior that they had seen at the platform. He hadn't seemed impressed by Potter at all _then. _Her hopes were dashed as her mum responded, positively delighted. "Oh, yes, isn't it wonderful that they're friends? I expect he'll be coming over to visit all the time! He lives with these horrible muggles you see…" Then Molly trailed off, saying, more to herself than Ginny, "A troll in the school, I just can't believe it. My poor Ronniekins."

Ginny smirked at Ron's embarrassment if Potter or the mudblood ever heard that name. That would be hilarious. She needed to set that up. Still, Potter being raised by muggles did explain some things. It was a horrible crime that he was forced to live like a mudblood…

_(He deserved it, murdering scum. Defeated my Lord.) _Bella's memories insisted and Ginny pushed away the thoughts. Really, it wasn't like she was going to befriend him! If he had wanted to learn about his roots, he would have, and she wasn't going to babysit a non-muggle-born-mudblood.

Molly was still muttering about "Her poor baby," and how he was "So brave" to face a troll, and "What a perfect Gryffindor" he was. That brought up a whole new set of questions for her mum. She had always known she would be Slytherin, it was in her blood, her roots, her other upbringing, but all her brothers were Gryffindors…

"Mum?" She asked, voice uncharacteristically quiet, "Would you love me if I wasn't in Gryffindor?"

Molly seemed startled by the question, but answered immediately, voice slightly scandalized. "Of course I would, Ginny! I'll love you no matter what happens, that's a mother's job!" There was a pause and then her face took on a slightly curious expression, "Why? Do you think you won't be in Gryffindor?"

Ginny shook her head, looking down at her hands, afraid to meet her mum's gaze, even with her previous assurance. It wasn't that she _thought _she wouldn't be in Gryffindor, she _knew _she wouldn't. She would hate it.

"Well, I could see you as a Ravenclaw," Molly mused, "Always buried in a book, you are. Percy was like that too, but he convinced the hat to put him in Gryffindor. Still, even if you don't try to convince the hat to put you in Gryffindor, I promise I'll love you. You're my daughter no matter what, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Gryffindor."

Ginny smiled slightly at the assurance and Molly grinned right back before returning to her paper, never noticing how Ginny's smile fell the moment Molly's eyes left her face.

_She never said anything about Slytherin._

* * *

><p><em>Bella scooped Reggie onto her lap with a wicked grin. Sirius was now six, and his father had decided that he would now be spending more time with him, learning how to be a proper heir, and eventually Lord Black. This meant Bella was on babysitting duty. Andy would follow Aunt Wally and her mother around with a book, sucking up their complements like a fish. She was always the favorite, the proper little girl. Bella was too loud, too flamboyant, too willing to express her opinion, Cissy too young, too babyish, and too shy. So the mother's would spend time with the favorite, and the eldest would be forced into babysitting her little sister and youngest cousin.<em>

_It wasn't that she disliked either of them, and she would have offered to take care of them if she had been given the choice. Between listening to old ladies gossip and playing around with brats, she thought the answer was pretty obvious. That would be different if she was a boy, of course, and could be taught interesting things like Sirius._

_But she wasn't. So instead she was fake-wrestling (another activity that her mother thought was far too boyish) with her baby cousin on the bed in his room while her other cousin studied politics and her sister manners and etiquette._

_Reggie let out another terrified shriek as she flipped him upside down, reaching out to tickle his stomach mercilessly. "Stop, stop!" He cried out, in between giggles as he rolled around on the floor._

_"Say please!" Bella warned with a laugh, only increasing the ferocity of her attack._

_"Um, Bella, maybe you should stop…" Cissy said quietly from her seat on the edge of the bed as she watched Regulus writhe about, arms flailing madly in a futile attempt to escape._

_Just as she closed her mouth however, Ginny watched one of Reggie's thrashing arms grab ahold of Cissy's leg, pulling her into the fray in one sharp motion. "Eep!" Cissy shrieked as she landed on his lap, banging her fists against his arm in a fruitless effort to get him to release her._

_Bella stopped tickling him with a frown as she realized his plan. She wouldn't be able to reach Reggie now, unless she went through Cissy first. Cissy's eyes seemed to widen in understanding at the same moment as Bella's, just as Reggie let out a victorious cry, "You can't touch me now, I have a hostage!" _

_"So you do," Bella acknowledged with a sly grin, "But not a particularly important one!" She grabbed Cissy around the waist, pulling her off of Reggie and pushing her onto the bed next to him, leaning above both of them with a grin. "Surrender?"_

_Reggie frowned, clearly seeing he was outclassed by the older girl, she was too big for him to defeat on his own. Suddenly small arms caught Bella's leg and pulled her down in between them, giving her a face full of fluffy bed sheets. "No way, two against one!" Cissy declared, pouncing on top of her back to hold her legs as Reggie caught on with a huge grin, grabbing ahold of her hair to keep her face down. _

_"What about you, do _you _surrender?" He asked obviously holding back a giggle._

_"Mm hmnn nrrrr nmph!" Bella mumbled, words skewed by the sheet she was talking into._

_"What?" Cissy questioned, loosening her grip a little as she tried to make sense of the incomprehensible mumbles._

_Arcing her back and throwing the two distracted children off her, Bella pinned them both to the bed with a smirk. "I _said _not quite yet."_

No, she wouldn't trade this for anything, _Ginny decided as they pounced upon her again with a loud war cry. _Not even a _real _lesson from Lord Black.

* * *

><p><strong>Tell me how you feel about this chapter, it's quite a bit longer than the others :)<strong>

**R&R**

**~Mitzzi**


	5. Chapter 4

**Sorry this took so long, I was focusing more on other stuff. Put up two oneshots, though! I don't really like this chapter, but the next one will be worth the wait :)**

* * *

><p>Ginny eyed the girl in front of her dubiously. Recently her mum had decided that she was not spending enough time with other children her age, now that she was all alone in the house. Molly had attempted to introduce her to the muggle children that lived nearby, but Ginny had quickly nixed that idea, making up some excuse about how it would be awkward to have to lie to them all the time. Her mum accepted that easily, saying it would probably be difficult to explain why she was not attending any nearby schools, but she still insisted that Ginny spend more time with children her age.<p>

That was why she was here, at the Lovegoods, a local wizarding family that lived just across the hill. Only Xenophilius Lovegood and his daughter Luna Lovegood lived here now, Luna's mother having died many years ago (_"A horrible accident with experimental spells, poor Luna saw it, you know. Left her a bit…unhinged."_) Molly had explained that she did not speak to the Lovegood's often because of their "differing views of reality," but that it would do Ginny some good to have company, even company as "strange and unreasonable" as the Lovegoods.

Ginny didn't think strange was a strong enough word to describe her first impression of the girl in front of her. She had pale blond hair that reminded Ginny of Cissa's tied into two low pigtails on either side of her head and large blue eyes that had a dreamy and faraway look to them. Radishes hung from her ears, attached through little holes that Ginny identified as a popular trend amongst muggles, and there was an assortment of flowers and berries braided through her hair. Perched on her nose were swirling glasses whose color was changing rapidly from red to green to blue to yellow to red again, and a necklace of butterbeer corks hung around her neck. It took all of Ginny's composure not to gape most unflatteringly. Instead she managed to introduce herself politely.

"Ginerva Weasley, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Ginny said, once she had composed herself completely and made sure she was not staring longer than was polite.

"Yes, good to meet you too." The girl replied vaguely, not-quite looking at Ginny, eyes focused just over her shoulder. "I'm Luna Lovegood, but you must know that already."

Ginny nodded, ignoring the girl's poor manners for the moment. Not everyone could live part-time as a Black. "I suppose you'll be off to Hogwarts next year as well?" She asked finally, after floundering for a few moments in search of a proper topic of conversation. It was hard to see anything that she had in common with this girl.

"Yes, I will be." Luna, said, looking Ginny in the eyes for the first time since they had been introduced. "And so will you. Twice, I would imagine."

"What?" Ginny couldn't help herself as the frantic question leapt from her lips, though she was silently cursing herself the moment her loud shout faded into the air. _This _was why Andy was the perfect daughter, she would do better than to give herself away like that. "What do you mean by that?" She continued, quickly attempting to cover her slip up.

Luna smiled vaguely, already turning away to fiddle with a string on the threadbare couch of the Burrow's living room in which they sat. "Oh, you know what I mean. There's two of you."

"Excuse me?" Ginny lifted a brow, perfectly portraying the fake offense she was sure she would be feeling if she _didn't _know what Luna was talking about. "I assure you, Fred and George are the twins, I have no secret sibling."

"Of course not. I don't quite understand it myself, but there _are _two of you. I just don't know how." Luna looked a little frustrated and began to mumble to herself quietly. "Perhaps Nargslooks? They have cloning abilities, don't they? No, they're native to the America's, what about Jurgslacks?"

Ginny watched dumfounded as the girl who had just threatened her best kept secret (for Bellatrix Lestrange was a _criminal, _and if anyone knew that Ginny was her reincarnation, she would be in Azkaban before you could say Quidditch) began ignoring her existence entirely. Luna had turned away completely, standing up to pace back and force, still muttering to herself about Wrackspurts and the mating habits of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks in relation to Ginny's hair color.

"So…You're a seer, or something?" Ginny asked, trying to move the conversation back to topics she understood.

Luna shrugged and Ginny mentally cringed at the gesture, as though expecting her Aunt Wally to leap out of the walls and punish them both. "Not really, the Warblers tell me things though."

"…Warblers?" Ginny asked.

"Oh yes, didn't you know? They're invisible little fairies that like to flit around wizarding homes. They're quite talkative once you get to know them. It's a little hard to find them though, takes some practice. In fact, there's one sitting right on you, right there." Luna replied dreamily with a vague hand motion towards Ginny's left shoulder.

Ginny attempted to smile, but she was sure it came out as more of a grimace. _Be nice, be nice, be nice, _she mentally chanted, using all of her willpower to stop herself from sneering at the obviously insane girl. But it wouldn't do to alienate them, Molly would probably then take it upon herself to introduce Ginny to all the other bloodtraitor families, and just expect them to play nice. No, she would much rather spend time with an insane _neutral _family than look at a Longbottom or McKinnon.

"Are you alright? The Wrackspurts aren't messing with your head, are they?" Luna asked curiously. At Ginny's blank look Luna elaborated, pushing her glasses up her nose so she could peer through them. "These are special glasses, given to me by my father. They let me see sneaky things like Wrackspurts, they like to cloud around peoples heads and make their minds go fuzzy. Oh! You have quite a lot floating around you, are you agitated? They're drawn to negative emotions, you see."

With another forced grimace Ginny shook her head, "No, I have no idea whatsoever why they would be attracted to me. I am having an…" She paused, looking for a proper word, "enlightening time."

Luna frowned at her words, looking Ginny up and down skeptically, "You aren't mocking me, are you?" She asked, voice serious for once.

Ginny shook her head almost immediately, plastering a fake mask of confusion on her face. At least her mother's lessons on _lady-like behavior _were good for something. "Of course not! Why would I do that? I've never even _heard _of half the creatures you were talking about, it's quite interesting." Ginny of course didn't mention that the only reason she hadn't heard of those creatures was because she was sure they didn't exist, and that it was only interesting because she had never seen anyone quite so out-of-touch with reality.

Luna eyed her a bit longer, as though attempting to judge her sincerity, before Ginny's well-taught fake emotions placated her. Ginny wasn't stupid enough to think it would have worked on a _real _pureblood, but this girl was also from a less-than-stellar family, so Ginny's artificial words were enough to mollify her.

Sensing an opportunity to redirect the conversation before Luna could go off on another rant about made-up creatures, Ginny continued hurriedly. "Are you excited to go to Hogwarts soon? I know I am. What house do you think you'll be in?"

This was, evidently, the wrong thing to say as Luna seemed very excited to go to Hogwarts, if only because she wanted to meet all of the Firskies and Jurgslacks there. The mention of these animals sent Luna off into her own world again for a few minutes before she seemed to remember Ginny's presence, and muttered something about wanting to be a Ravenclaw before returning to her inane ramblings about the Fire-Breathing Frunduck.

It was like this Molly found the girls two hours later when she came back to the house to tell Luna it was time to leave; Luna pacing back and forth, pulling her fingers through her tangled hair and mumbling under her breath as Ginny watched on in abject disbelief. Discreetly, Ginny attempted to check the calendar out of the corner of her eye. May 12th, not that long until summer vacation and everyone else would come home again. Hopefully that would mean no more visits from Loony Luna.

* * *

><p><em>The wind rushed through her hair, caressing her face as she zoomed across the lawn above her house. Black curls bouncing in the wind, she threw her head back and laughed, swooping after a startled bird that had fled its post on a nearby tree. <em>

_Up, up, up, Bella tilted her Shooting Star 6 towards the clouds as she ascended rapidly before spiraling down into a fast dive towards the fast-approaching ground._

_Bella screamed in exhilaration as she stopped feet before the ground–as close as she would dare to go at such speeds–before racing upwards once more. Ginny grinned at the excitement that bubbled through her veins, but couldn't help comparing the broom Bella was riding to the brooms at the Weasley household. Though not nearly as well taken care of as Bella's, and nowhere close the the fastest models on the market, the Cleansweep 2 that was hidden in the back of the garden was _ages _faster than the Shooting Star she was currently on._

_As preoccupied as she was with the thrill of flying, Bella didn't notice the small figure rushing out of the house until Ginny had already noticed and identified her. Just Andromeda. Good. Not mother. Bella, however, wasn't used to flying at such high speeds, and her vision quite a bit blurry, so the sight of the figure, no matter that it was _far _too small to be mother, sent her racing to the ground in a panic._

_She tumbled to the ground with a small cry, mind already racing through a dozen possible scenarios, "I can explain, I was just–" She paused, finally looking upwards to see who had found her, and gave a sigh of relief at the young face. "Oh, it's just you Andy."_

_Andy sniffed haughtily at her as she took in Bella's windblown appearance. "Yes, just me. Coming to warn _you _that mother should be home any minute now."_

_Bella sat up with a jolt, panic filling her again. "Mother? I thought she wasn't going to be home until Monday?" She questioned, confused._

_"Well, I guess she just decided to come home early. Perhaps you should have taken _that _into consideration before going off flying! You know how mother hates it when you act like a boy." Andy smirked nastily._

_Whatever grip Bella had on her composure slipped as she realized just how upset mother would be that she had disobeyed her warnings, _again. _"Help me?" She practically begged, motioning from her dirtied clothes to the broom in her hand._

_Andy eyed her speculatively, tossing back a handful of dark curls that were only a shade lighter than Bella's. Finally, her face softened as she snatched the broom out of Bella's hands, already rushing back towards the house. "It's hard to believe that _you're _the older sister, sometimes." She said with a teasing frown._

_"Sometimes you just have to lighten up Andy, be adventurous, try new things!" Bella answered with a laugh, smirking at her sister's retreating back as she headed towards her room to change._

_Andy ignored her, passing the broom to Trixie with a strict set of whispered instructions. She continued towards the landing, heading towards the main floor, where her mother was likely to arrive. "I'll distract mother for you Bella, do try and be more careful, though, will you?"_

_"Yeah, yeah!" Bella shouted as she tore through her closets, discarding the dirtied clothes in the back where they would be invisible to anyone but the house-elf. "Only if you try and loosen up!"_

_An indignant huff was her only answer before there was a clatter from downstairs and Andy was gone, presumable to stall her mother long enough to give Bella time to change. Mother would, of course, just assume her darling favorite daughter wished to see her the moment she arrived. Andy was a true Slytherin, she could pull it off perfectly._

_"Andromeda, dearest, have you missed me?" A loud voice echoed through the house, "Trixie! My bags."_

_"Yes, mother, you were gone for _ever _so long." Came the dutiful reply of Andy's, and Bella didn't bother restraining a triumphant smirk. It was good to have a perfectly Slytherin sister to cover for her whenever her reckless Gryffindorish tendencies got a little out of hand._

* * *

><p>Molly was red with anger as she paced back and forth across the living room, glaring at Arthur every time he opened his mouth in a useless attempt to speak, as Ginny watched from the sidelines, wondering what could have caused her mum such distress. Finally, Molly spoke, visibly restraining herself from the inevitable explosion that was to come.<p>

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Arthur! My son, my _eleven _year-old son faced He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" She was shouting by the end of her short rant, hands white as she crumpled a ball of paper in between her fingers. It had obviously once been a letter from Ron.

"Mollywobbles," Arthur said soothingly, reaching out to hold her shoulder, "Ron didn't really face him, young Harry Potter did. Ron was just trying to help his friend and be a good person, I'm sure he didn't understand the danger–"

"No!" Molly practically hissed, wrenching herself from Arthur's grasp, "He didn't understand the danger _at all! _I lost two brothers, my parents, three cousins and countless friends to that monster. I. Refuse. To. Lose. My. Children. Too!" Each word was punctuated with a sharp breath.

Without another word Arthur gathered her up into his arms, murmuring soft words into her ear and rubbing her back as she began to sob noisily, neither parent noticing their daughter, still watching from the shadows. As Molly sniffed into his chest the letter fell from her fingertips, landing with an inaudible thump on the floor, and Ginny darted forward to catch it, rushing from the room the moment it was grasped in her hand. It was embarrassing seeing her parents displaying such weakness, but she probably would have fled the situation no matter what they were doing, just to read the letter in her hand.

_The Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. _He was back, somehow, and her brother Ron had seen him, faced him. Faced _against _him! Probably all Potter's fault, she reminded herself, her brother didn't understand the power and prestige he could gain at the Dark Lord's side. She knew it was his dream to outshine his brothers, and the He could give Ron that and more. If only he were a little more open minded, but it was no bother, Ginny would teach him soon enough.

Ginny hastened into her room, closing the door with a thud, and carefully opening the crumpled roll of parchment. She straightened the parchment, swallowing the burning excitementandjoyand _ohgodyes _coming from Bella that was threatening to overwhelm her, merely at the thought of the Dark Lord returning. With shaking fingers, the only things betrayal her nervousness, she began to read.

Dear Mum, the letter read,

Please don't freak out when you read this, but remember how I wrote to you about the Forbidden Corridor? It turns out Professor Dumbledore was hiding the Philosopher's Stone there! How crazy is that! Me, Harry and Hermione thought Snape was going to steal it so we busted through all of the protections (I got knocked out playing a giant chess-set of McGonagall's, can you believe it, I beat Professor McGonagall's protection!) And then there was only Harry left at the end, but instead of facing Snape he was facing Professor Quirrel.

It turns out Quirrel (remember the stuttering DADA teacher who I told you about? SUPER BORING!) was possessed by You-Know-Who, and he wanted to steal the Philospher's Stone to bring him back to life. Thank Merlin Harry stopped him, right?

Anyway, I thought we were going to lose to to the slimy Slytherins for the House Cup, but after seeing our heroism in protecting the stone, Professor Dumbledore gave us a whole bunch of points! You should of seen Malfoy's face, stupid Git.

Love, Ron.

Ginny dropped the letter from her hands, staring blankly at the space it had just been, how _stupid _could Ron be? To defy the Dark Lord like that? It was going to be bloody impossible to convince him of her identity _now _when he had something so grave to hold against the Weasleys. He would probably punish her for not stopping her brother as well, not that she wouldn't deserve it of course, she should have taught him better, but really.

Another one of her mum's anguished sobs broke her trail of thoughts as her gaze snapped towards the door. "I won't let Him touch any of my babies, not my little Ronniekins or sweet Gin-gin!" Molly shouted, voice muffled by tears. Ginny sighed with exasperation at her mum's declaration, if she _truly _meant that, she wouldn't be raising her children to defy Him! It was suicide.

Ginny groaned, sinking her face into her palms. How was she supposed to save her family from their disgrace, if they were unwilling to try to save themselves from instant death? Completely ridiculous.

It was times like this she really, really wished she had been born into a family like the Malfoys. Even if it meant giving up her perfect curls for some sort of straight platinum blond hair like Lucius', or being required to call her own little _sister _"mother".

What she would do to have that perfect Slytherin sister with her now, she needed someone to help her sort out this mess. It was obvious she couldn't fix the family all on her own.

* * *

><p><em>"Finite Incantatum!" Bella hissed, holding her mother's wand carefully in between her fingers as she pointed it at the now blue scarf that was lying on the table before her. Slowly, <em>too _slowly, the color faded towards a darker blue, then navy, a dark purple, and then, finally, the deep black it had originally been._

_Her mother did not seem to notice Bella's agitation about the slow pace of the magic, instead seeming incredibly proud that Bella had managed to get it right on the first try. "Well done, Bella. You are undoubtedly the most powerful amongst all your sisters." Druella said, aiming a rare, proud smile in her eldest daughter's direction._

_Ginny managed to forget her frustration in order to bask in her mother's pride, it was not often that Druella complemented her, so every word meant far more than it would from someone like Molly who could sing Ginny's praises all day._

_"Thank you, mother." Bella responded with a triumphant smirk at the scarf that turned back into a light blue color with a swish of her mother's hand._

_"Once more, Bella. That was excellent, but you need to make it faster. Let the magic flow." Druella commanded, ruining the praise with her criticism. Still, it was helpful, and Bella knew it had taken far too long to revert to its original color to live up to her mother's expectations for a perfect spell. Ginny was honestly just pleased she had managed it on the first try, she was worried she wouldn't be able to, and would disappoint her mother._

_"Finite Incantatum!" She said again, watching proudly as the scarf faded towards black quicker than the last time, stopping only on one shade of dark blue before turning black._

Her mother watched carefully, looking between Bella and the wand in her hand for a moment before giving a small nod. "Much better. Remember, that is not your proper wand, so it will not respond perfectly. You have to imagine the scarf changing in your head. Spells are all about the will power behind them."

_Bella nodded, closing her eyes and imagining the scarf to the best of her abilities. Slightly scratchy, woolen material with a frayed edge that had made mother decide it was disposable enough to use for magic practice. Black with a hint of silver on the edges in a spiraling pattern. Black, black like our name, black like my hair, black like the shadows from the house-elf heads hanging off the walls in Grimmauld Place. Black. "Finite Incatatum!" Black. Black. Blackblackblack._

_The scarf that had been turned blue once more by a lazy wave of her mother's hand wavered colors for a second, blue darkening into black before Ginny could blink. Bella looked up with a triumphant grin, before regaining her composure and allowing it to fade into a smirk at her mother's admonishing glance. She had done it!_

_Eventually her mother's chastising expression softened a bit as she spoke again. "That was excellent, I believe you are finished with that spell for now. How about we work on some basic charms work?" It wasn't a question, and Bella knew it, so she felt no need to answer, instead just gripping the wand a little bit tighter._

_"Good." Druella said, banishing the scarf without a word and summoning one of the most harmless looking books from a nearby shelf. "Levitate it."_

_Ginny quickly racked her mind for the incantation, remembering it at the same moment as Bella did, her gaze zeroing in on the book as she imagined it, weightless, floating, up, up, up. Flick and swish and "Wingardium Leviosa!"_

_Nothing happened._

_Bella frowned at the motionless book as Ginny wondered were she had gone wrong. The incantation was correct, that much she was sure of, she had imagined it properly, she knew, was it the wand motion? Flick and swish? Swish and flick? _

_"Swish and flick!" Her mother commanded angrily, almost as if she had read Ginny's mind. "Not flick and swish, swish and flick!"_

_Abashed, Bella looked away, focusing once more on the book in front of her, willing for it too work with all her might. She wouldn't fail again, she would make mother proud, show her that she was _better _than pretty Cissy and polite Andy, because she was powerful Bella. Bella closed her eyes, focusing on visualizing the book. Floating, weightless, upupup, rising gently, swishandflickand "Wingardium Leviosa!"_

_With a silent prayer she cracked open an eyelid, hoping that the book had risen from its position on the table. It had. Even as she watched it wobbled slightly before rising slowly and unsteadily into the air, tilting this way and that as if unbalanced. It wasn't a well-done spell, no, but it had _worked. _Bella chanced a glance at her mother to see her reaction, and was pleased to see her mother's face void of the disapproving frown from moments ago._

_"Very much improved, but you must practice more. Books are heavy to lift, you should have no trouble with simple things like feathers now, but this is not enough if you wish to live up to the name of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black." Druella warned, though Ginny thought she could see a spark of well buried pride in her mother's voice._

_The book clattered back onto the table as Bella's concentration broke, startling Ginny out of her revelry with a jolt. Bella closed her eyes once more, reaching for the feeling of absolute control that came with every act of magic she did and repeated the spell once more. "Wingardium Leviosa!" She shouted, giving her wand a swish and flick as she aimed it directly at the book before her._

_The book rose into the air again, this time to an altitude of around four feet, before it began to wobble dangerously in the air. Focusing harder, Bella willed it to stay afloat, repeating the incantation in her mind as she imagined the book going higherandhigherandhigher. Wingardium Leviosa. Higher. Wingardium Leviosa. Upupup. Wingardium Leviosa!_

_The book stopped wobbling, and for a heart-stopping moment Ginny was afraid it would fall to the ground again, but then it rose smoothly into the air once more, all signs of hesitation gone. It climbed through the air, defying the laws of gravity and gradually getting higher and higher until it was floating somewhere near ten feet from the ground. Teeth clenching from the effort of directing all of her focus at the one object, she slowly allowed her concentration to waver and the book began to descend, getting faster and faster until it hit the table once again with a muffled thump._

_"Marvelous," Druella practically crowed as she watched the book land, "Do that again, Bella. That was simply marvelous! You truly are a pride to the House of Black."_

_This time Bella didn't bother to disguise the grin that spread across her face at her mother's words as she leveled her wand at the book once more._

* * *

><p>Ginny awoke with a start, groaning tiredly as she rolled over again, trying to ignore her mother's shrill voice and go back to sleep. School had ended for Percy, FredandGeorge, and Ron around a month and-a-half ago, and Ron had spent almost the entire time begging Molly to allow his friends to visit. Molly hadn't given in, thankfully, as if she had Ginny would be absolutely disgusted with her obvious favoritism, especially when Ron had done nothing to earn it.<p>

Percy was on his way to becoming a prefect (in fact it was almost guaranteed that he would get his badge this year with the Hogwart's letters), was the top of his grade, and had never served a single detention in his life, yet he was not allowed to bring friends home from school. Fred and George didn't matter, because though popular for their pranks only had one close friend that they would think of inviting over, Lee Jordan, and his parents took him away for a different vacation every year. Ginny was sure they would be inviting girls over left and right, if Molly didn't have another rule that allowed no friends of the opposite gender over. Bill had been head boy in his time, and was still never allowed to bring friends, or even his girlfriend of two years over, and Charlie, though captain of the Quidditch team, and arguably best seeker that Gryffindor had seen in anyone's memory, was never allowed a single friend.

Yet Molly was coming close to breaking this rule for Ron, who had done _nothing _spectacular this past year except to sentence himself to death once the Dark Lord had risen once more.

Well, if you thought about it that way, perhaps Molly was just going along with his dying wishes…

No matter what Molly said, Ginny could see she was close to giving in. Ginny was almost positive that she would have even allowed that _female _mudblood friend of his to stay over if Ron had asked. Of course, it was possible that she was only so agreeable because Ron's friend was the famous Harry Potter.

God, her mum probably thought she was doing Ginny a favor, after all, she seemed completely sure that Ginny was madly infatuated with him.

Since the rest of the family had gotten home from school, Ginny's days had brightened up considerably. She spent the most of her time with Percy, hiding out in one of their rooms while he did homework and she read his books. Though normally a stickler for the rules, when the Twins' pranks forced Percy to retreat to his room for three days in a row, he had helped Ginny nick her mother's wand and practice with it.

When she wasn't with Percy, however, she was almost continually accosted with accounts of Ron's bravery when attempting to save the Philosopher's Stone, or stories about the great Harry Potter and the adventures they had gotten up to. After listening to these stories for _hours, _even being pranked by Fred or George was a small mercy.

Recently the twins had been suspiciously quiet, spending most of their time whispering with Ron in a corner and gazing longingly at her dad's muggle-toy garage. Undoubtedly creating a grand finale of pranks for the summer, Ginny thought, she only wondered why they were including Ron, when normally they considered him too dull to talk to. Probably the friendship with the great Harry Potter was helping him there as well.

"Can't believe you, what were you thinking!" Molly's loud voice interrupted her train of thoughts as Ginny buried her face into her pillow once more. Molly's voice grew quieter for a minute, and Ginny allowed the peace of the silent house to wash over her before Molly's shriek once again echoed around the backyard. "A flying car! Arthur could get fired, look at you!"

_A flying car? _That caught her attention. Ginny knew her father had been messing around with muggle cars recently, but a _flying _one? Had Ron, Fred and George pranked it somehow? Deciding she didn't care, Ginny closed her eyes to fall back into a blissful sleep…

…And was interrupted again with a bang of pots and pans from downstairs, Molly's voice, now cheerful, chattering away incomprehensible words.

Realizing that there was no hope in her attempts to fall back asleep, Ginny slowly dragged herself out of the bed, pulling the covers with her as she fell to the floor with a thump. Rubbing her aching head, she stood with a yawn, before pushing the covers back on top of the bed and making it neatly. It was disgraceful that she even _knew _how to make a bed, but there was no house-elf and she refused to look like a slob.

Turning towards her closet she got dressed slowly, attempting pulling a hairbrush through her curly hair once, before throwing it away with a growl, and pulling her hair back into a messy, high ponytail with a green bow. Satisfied with her appearance she descended the steps slowly, wanting to see what had caused the commotion, but dreading to see what the twins had done.

Ginny took a look at the table where four figures were sitting, trying to spot the cause of commotion, and recoiled as she met eyes with a familiar face.

In between Ron and the Twins sat a dark-haired boy with cracked glasses, bright green eyes, and a jagged lightning-bolt scar across his forehead.

_Harry Potter._

* * *

><p><strong>And the story really begins, here. I just can't imagine Ginervatrix getting along with Luna, but they were going to have to meet at some point. We are almost done with the random moments in time, soon school will start! All of these random moments will be important later on though :)<strong>

**Does anyone have opinions on what should happen with the diary situation? I would love to hear them!**

**R&R**

**~Mitzzi**


	6. Chapter 5

**Wow, another update done! Just wanted to let everyone know I'll be gone for four weeks in a place with no internet as of Monday, so don't expect any updates for a while. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Because I realized I forgot to mention this before now; Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did I wouldn't waste my time writing fanfiction about it, I would publish my stories instead, lol.**

**Also, I have borrowed a few quotes from the book in this chapter, and taken the liberty to change some things around as I didn't have a book on hand for the entire writing process…**

* * *

><p><em>Harry Potter. <em>At her table. In her house. _Harry Potter. _Ginny's brain took a few seconds to begin working again, as she looked from Ron to Harry and back again, shock written on all her features. _Harry Potter. _In her house. Polluting her air. Sitting next to her brother. _Harry Potter._

"I expect she'll be wanting your autograph now, Harry. Bet she fancies you, she does!" Ron declared with a grin, as though oblivious to the awkward silence that had settled through the room.

The twins cracked up laughing at this statement, though Potter seemed to sink lower into his overlarge rags, face blushing red. Seeing his reaction, the twins continued gleefully, well-aware of his discomfort.

"Been talking about you _all _summer, Harry–"

"We thought she'd never stop!"

"Had to rescue you from those relatives of yours–"

"Just so our darling sister could meet you!"

"Because she'd be _so _sad if she didn't get to see the famous–"

"Marvelous–"

"Delightful–"

"Harry Potter!" They finished in unison, grinning at the look of horror on Potter's face as he shrunk into his seat. Ginny merely leveled them with her best imitation of Grandfather Arcturus' glare. She had learned it was still quite frightening, even in her Ginny body, after trying it out on a stupid muggle boy who had wanted her to play ball with him.

Deciding to ignore their presence for now, Ginny turned away. Looking at her mum, who was sashaying around the kitchen while humming merrily, Ginny demanded icily, "What is _he _doing here?"

Living up to to the unbelievable obliviousness that seemed too prominent in the Weasley family this morning, Molly ignored her hard tone, answering with a smile. A bloody _smile. _"Oh, darling, Ronniekins here was worried about Harry because he hadn't been answering any of Ron's letters, so Fred and George took him to Harry's house in a…" Here her smile became more fixed as she gritted her teeth, "Flying car that Arthur, er, experimented on. But never mind that, he can stay until school starts, what's done is done, after all."

Ginny was sure that if she glared any harder Molly would spontaneously combust. In fact, she was surprised it hadn't happened yet. "What about the rule?" She asked pointedly, unwilling to give up so soon.

"What rule?" Molly asked with fake innocence, shooting Ginny a cautionary look as if warning her to drop the subject.

"You know…the rule." Ginny said, willing to fight her mum's fake obliviousness with her own. "The rule you made that says we aren't allowed to have guests over because we're too poor."

Molly recoiled as the rest of her family reddened at the mention of their financial status. Ron shot Potter an uncomfortable look that Ginny noticed immediately, Ron seemed almost worried that Potter wouldn't like him anymore if he knew how poor they were…That was perfect!

She continued with a sly grin, "The rule you made because, well, if we can barely afford our _own _food, how are we supposed to provide for guests?" So she was exaggerating a bit, but Potter didn't know that, and the rest of her family seemed too stricken to correct her. "So I thought no one was allowed to visit, not even the _famous _Harry Potter, because just having a celebrity in our house isn't worth having to go to Hogwarts without any of our books…"

Potter looked away guiltily, refusing to meet anyone's eyes, and shoving away the plate of food in front of him. "I wouldn't want to impose, Mrs. Weasley." He mumbled nervously, "Don't want to waste your money, or something."

Unfortunately he seemed more upset that his presence could do such horrible things to his friend's family than disgusted by his friend's lack of money, and Molly seemed able to see this. His words seemed to shake her out of the momentary shock she had entered when Ginny had insulted her own family, and she began to speak immediately. "Don't worry, Harry, dear. Ginny's just being dramatic. Her friends come over all the time! I expect she was just surprised to see you, we all were, really. Now, eat up! You're all skin and bones!"

It wasn't a skilled save, but it seemed to do, for after a short, dubious glance at her mum Potter seemed to give in, pulling the plate towards him once more. Ron's presence besides him inhaling plate after plate of food seemed to reassure him, and he began to eat, perhaps realizing that Ron wouldn't eat so much if they really were on the brink of starving as Ginny had implied.

Satisfied, Molly turned away, though not before throwing Ginny her most hurt look. Ginny knew that meant Molly planned on talking to her later, but if Potter was really staying, then her mum wouldn't dare for risk of him overhearing. But Ginny refused to give in like that. If there was going to be a filthy not-mudblood like him hanging around _her _house, dressed like a street urchin, she was going to get something out of it too.

"You're right mum, I'm sorry, I'm just a little tired…" She gave a sweet smile in her mum's direction, who gave her an approving nod. "But since Harry's here, can my friend Loo–Luna come as well?" She saved herself from insulting the girl quickly, as she shot Molly a pleading glance that was only for effect. They both knew her mum would have to say yes, or Potter might think Ginny had been telling the truth earlier.

With a angry huff that was so quiet Ginny almost missed it, her mum nodded her ascent. "Yes, she can come. We'd love to have her over, I'm sure." Molly said, voice devoid of any of her normal cheer.

Ginny gave a happy squeal, rushing up to give Molly a hug around the middle before skipping up the stairs towards her room. The emotion wasn't faked at all, Ginny really was a happy bundle of success. If Loony Luna didn't send Potter running away from the Weasleys as fast as he could, she didn't know what would.

* * *

><p><em>Unfortunately, Luna had declined the invitation, citing the need to spend more time with her father before she was off to Hogwarts. Ginny wasn't too upset about that, they weren't really friends after all, the girl was certifiably insane! But she would have liked to try and use Luna to chase Potter away.<em>

_Instead Potter and her brother Ron spent the rest of the summer lounging around the Burrow like they owned the place, forcing Ginny to retreat to her room. Her days were only made worse by the lack of flying, one of the few activities she could do while Ginny that she couldn't when she was Bella. Since Potter was some sort of Quidditch prodigy, he and Ron spent all day flying around the place, Ron using the old Cleansweep she had been using all year._

_It got so bad that the only time she looked forward to was the night, when she would fall asleep easily and without any prompting, looking forward to spending some time around the Black family. Things were different there too, Bellatrix, Narcissa and Andromeda spending most of their time away from Ravensden, where they normally lived. With the first of the Black cousins going away to Hogwarts in September, the family was spending more and more time together, either to practice magic with Bellatrix, or to attend more pureblood gatherings (which the Weasleys were no longer allowed at because of the incident with the money. Ginny still had yet to discover what had actually happened in aforementioned incident, because Bellatrix had no interest in asking). This led to Bellatrix spending the majority of her summer either at Black Manor, where any formal gatherings were held, or at Grimmauld place with Sirius and Regulus._

_Bella (who was going by Bellatrix now to everyone but her family and sort-of friends from the pureblood gatherings) was at Grimmauld place currently, in the guest room that she had claimed as her own, sprawled across the bed. Regulus was seated near her head, sitting cross-legged as he ran a brush through Narcissa's golden hair. She was perched on the edge on the bed, swinging her legs back and forth._

_Andromeda and Sirius were nowhere to be found, undoubtedly sneaking around to cause trouble of some sort. When Bellatrix had told Andromeda to loosen up, that was certainly not what she had meant, but Andromeda seemed to find Sirius' antics endearing. He would drag her around the house, creating chaos wherever he went, while she followed behind, giggling slightly. Ginny got the impression that Andromeda admired Sirius for being crazy enough to do the things he did (like smuggling a rat under the table during a family gathering) but was far too well-behaved to actually take part. Bellatrix wasn't going to interfere though, somehow Andromeda had convinced the brat to lay off the rest of the cousins whenever she was around, and Bellatrix was more inclined to thank her than to ask her to stop._

_That left her to spend time with Narcissa and Regulus, who, though much younger than her, she was still quite fond of. Regulus was only five, a year younger than Narcissa, and the two got on swimmingly. They were alike in many ways, both quiet and slightly shy with strangers, though much more upon once you got to know them. If she had to pick a favorite it would be Narcissa, of course, as she was Bellatrix's sister, but Regulus came very close._

_"Mean, stupid, bully!" Narcissa's proclamation interrupted Ginny's thoughts, and Bellatrix sighed upon realizing that she was arguing with Regulus over the only subject they ever seemed to disagree on; whether Sirius was to be loved or hated. Admittedly, some of Bellatrix's opinions had probably influenced Narcissa's anti-Sirius stance, but Bellatrix herself never participated in any of the fights._

_"No he's not!" Regulus shouted, ripping the hairbrush from Narcissa's hair, and smirking as she gave an indignant shout. "You're just being a stupid mudblood-head!"_

_Narcissa glared at him, turning around the bed so they were facing each other nose to nose, "I don't see you being so nice when he's hiding dead frogs in your bed!" Regulus flinched, reminded of his irrational fear of frogs that had stemmed from that incident. Sensing weakness, Narcissa continued, "When we're here Andy tries to convince him not to be so mean, but he still picks on you! Guess your brother doesn't love you, does he?"_

_Regulus seemed ready to burst into tears, but they evaporated before they hit his eyes as he exploded angrily_ _(because Blacks don't cry, shouting is always next best). "He loves me, too! It's Andy who doesn't care about _you, _you know she only got Sirius to lay of off you because she knows you'll run away like a tattletale baby!"_

_Both seemed a second away from blows, because though Regulus had been taught again and again not to hit girls, they were all aware that Black rules didn't apply within the family. Bellatrix stepped in quickly before the argument could get that far. "Stop it, both of you." She commanded, in her best impression of Aunt Wally's voice, leveling them both with her patented Grandfather Arcturus glare._

_Regulus and Narcissa both froze instantly, glancing at her in surprise, as though they had forgotten she was there. They probably had, they tended to get very absorbed in their arguments, up to the point where they didn't notice anyone else around them. _

_"You're both being irrational. Sirius loves Reggie, _don't say otherwise Cissy,_" She commanded, upon seeing her sister open her mouth to disagree, "But he is awful with those pranks of his. Sirius just wants attention, Cissy, and you are giving it to him." Bellatrix finished, seeing Narcissa shut her mouth with a snap, unwilling to give Sirius what he wanted. Regulus deflated slightly, but didn't argue. _

_Bellatrix sat up slowly, picking up the hairbrush from where it had been discarded besides her, and handing it to Regulus. "Brush my hair, brat. We're going to Diagon Alley to buy my school things later, and I want to look good." Bellatrix said, and he immediately turned around to do as she said. Patting her lap, she gestured at Narcissa, who got up from her spot near the edge of her bed to sit in between Bellatrix's legs as she ran her fingers through her sister's still-tangled hair._

_"Diagon Alley," Narcissa gushed, picking up on the change of topic quickly, "That's amazing. You're so lucky to get to go to Hogwarts now, I have to wait _years."

_"Me even longer." Regulus added with a pout. "I'll be all alone for a whole year!"_

It's not that bad, _Ginny tried to reassure him, before remembering that her words were useless, and stopping the futile attempt to open her mouth. Instead, Bellatrix said. "Yes, I'll miss you all while I'm gone, who's going to keep you two in line without me?"_

_"No one! We'll do whatever we like!" Regulus chirped from behind her, sounding delighted at the prospect._

_"No," Narcissa said with a frown, "Andy will be the oldest then. She'll be sure to tell mother if you get any ideas from Sirius. He only gets away with what he does because he's the heir."_

_Unwilling to see them get caught in another argument about Sirius, Bellatrix spoke again. "That's right, you'll have to report to Ms. Follow-the-Rules-Andy. Won't you miss me then?"_

_"We'll miss you either way!" Narcissa replied._

_"Yep, you're our favorite." Regulus declared with a grin._

_"Good, you're my favorites too." Bellatrix said, smiling, "But–hey! That doesn't mean you can stop brushing my hair, Reggie!"_

* * *

><p>Summer at the Burrow continued in the dreadfully slow way time often does, until a few days before school would begin, when everyone in the Burrow prepared to go to Diagon Alley for supplies. The Weasley family (<em>and Potter, of course, because as Molly was constantly saying "You're just like a member of the family now, Harry, dearest."<em>) were all gathered around the floo, each with a pinch of powder held in their hands.

Molly was explaining how to use the floo to Potter, who at least had the good grace to look ashamed of his ignorance. Molly motioned for Percy to go first to show Potter how it was done, and he stepped in, throwing the powder over his head and announcing clearly, "Diagon Alley."

The twins soon followed after, leaving only Molly, Arthur, Ginny, Ron and Potter. Molly gestured towards the fireplace with an encouraging smile, "Go along now, Harry."

"Remember to announce your destination clearly and precisely. Diagon Alley. You don't want to land in the wrong place!" Arthur said with a smile that was clearly meant to be encouraging, but only seemed to succeed in scaring Potter more.

"What do you mean?" He started to ask, but was cut off as Molly pushed him gently towards the floo.

"Never mind that darling, I'm sure nothing too bad will happen to you." She said, ignoring Potter's pleading glance at Ron, "Well? Go on now."

Potter stepped into the floo, throwing the powder into the air, before stumbling out the word, "D-Diag–gon Al–l–ley" and disappearing in a flash.

The moment he disappeared Ron turned towards Molly with a nervous expression, "He sorta messed up, didn't he?" He asked.

"Yes, he did." Arthur responded, looking uncharacteristically grave, "Let's just hope he didn't get lost in the floo network."

Ever the optimist, Molly stepped in quickly, "Don't be silly, I'm sure he's fine. Let's just go and check." The carefully hidden worry in her voice belied her calm expression, but Ron seemed convinced, and quickly jumped into the floo.

Ginny followed afterwards quickly, leaving her mum and dad to their worries. Maybe if she was lucky Potter landed in some escaped Deatheater's home, and they decided to do the world a favor by killing him. Well, she could only hope.

She tossed the green powder above her head, and closing her eyes for the awkward sensation of floo travel. "Diagon Alley." She stated clearly, familiar enough with this method of travel that she didn't have to focus on her annunciation.

With a flash and a jolt she was tumbling out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. She caught herself quickly, positioning her legs so she would land in a slightly awkward standing position, though still much more grateful than anyone else in her family seemed to have managed, judging by their bodies sprawled across the floor before her. Brushing some dust off of her robes (_the nice ones, because she refused to go to such a public place looking like a beggar as her brothers were wont to do) _she stepped out of the way to make room for her parents who followed shortly after her.

Both landed on their feet, before glancing around the pub. Molly waved the rest of the family over, and after a quick once-over of Percy, the twins and Ron, brushing some of the soot and grime from the floor off of their clothes, she declared them fit for public. Molly shot Ginny an approving look at the state of her robes, deciding that she was clean enough already.

Arthur had not turned to look at the rest of the Weasleys, still glancing around the pub. "Molly," He began slowly, "Where's Harry?"

Molly turned around with a yelp, calling out his name through the pub, Ron joining her in frantically searching the tables for his friend. The twins shot their parents a strange look, while Percy just stood their looking a bit confused, until Ginny decided to humor them and explain. "He said Diagon Alley wrong, stuttered. We thought he might have still made it, but he probably fell out at the wrong grate or something…" She explained.

Percy gave a frown at that, "The grates nearest to Diagon Alley are Gringotts and one in Knockturn Alley. We should check both of those." He said.

For once the twins seemed inclined to listen to him, presumably worried that Potter had gone and landed himself in Knockturn Alley, and went to relay Percy's idea to their dad. Arthur nodded, calling the family back together to tell them the plan to find Potter. "We will check Gringotts first, he's probably landed there–hopefully landed there." He said, not seeming to want to acknowledge the fact that Potter wouldn't last a minute in Knockturn Alley.

_(She pushed out of the dilapidated building where her contact had been supposed to meet her with a snort. It was a shame he couldn't make it, but then again, he was probably a useless spy if he was actually _caught _by Dumbledore and his bloodtraitor cronies._

_Her face was hidden, white mask firmly in place, though shadowed by the long black hood she was wearing over it. It was important to conceal her identity until the Dark Lord's reign was true, but she would soon be able to walk without thought for the consequences, she knew. Light was falling._

_A tall, wide man dressed in rags and covered with scars moved to block her way, catching sight of her small figure and guessing correctly that she was a woman. "Ey now, pretty girl, dun be runnin' 'way" He slurred drunkenly, reaching out a meaty paw to stop her._

_Another man approached her from the side, laughing at his friend's antics. "Yeah, baby, the fun's just start–"_

_He was cut off as she pulled down back her hood for a second, allowing the bone-white mask to catch the light briefly, and the men recoiled as if struck. _

_"Sorry…s'rry ma'am." One managed, before taking off to run like a struck puppy, the other following quickly behind, and Bellatrix grinned, her face matching the wicked parody of a grin that was painted across her mask._

_It was good to have so much power without a word.)_

Ginny smirked as the memory washed over her, relishing in the feeling of power as the stupid thugs had fled. The people in Knockturn Alley understood power, that was for sure, and they would understand the power they could gain in offing Potter. Yes, her dad was right to be worried, if Potter had landed there he would need a giant suddenly appearing out of nowhere to get him out again.

Yet instead of rushing of to Knockturn Alley to be sure, the Weasleys still headed towards Gringotts first. Ginny thought that was stupid, as if he had landed in Gringotts he was perfectly safe, but didn't say anything. She considered it, she didn't want Potter _killed _after all (_but you do, you do, you do_) but changed her mind. A little scare wouldn't hurt anyone, and most of the Alley's inhabitants would be too worried about bringing the Ministry down on their heads to do him any lasting damage.

"Harry, Hermione!" Her thoughts were interrupted by Ron's shout, as he raced forward to greet Potter and a bushy-haired girl that was standing besides him. Obviously Hermione Granger. The mudblood friend of his.

Ron babbled nervously on to Potter about how they were worried that he had gotten lost, and that they were just looking for him and what happened to your clothes? And Potter answered that he had fallen through to Knockturn Alley and seen Lucius Malfoy selling things illegally, and it had only been Hagrid's appearance that had gotten him out.

Taking a good look at the hulking figure of Hagrid, Ginny nearly snorted at the irony. A giant appearing out of nowhere, indeed.

Arthur, however, had zeroed in on another point of Potter's speech, "Malfoy, you say? I'd love to take him down a peg or two!" He declared passionately.

Molly frowned at him, even as she rid the dirt from Potter's overlarge clothes with a quick spell, "You don't want to get involved with Malfoy, Arthur. He's got a lot of pull with the Ministry.

"You don't think I could take Malfoy?" Naturally, Arthur took offense to her comment, and was quick to puff up, ready to defend his pride.

Ignoring Molly's quick reassurance to assuage his masculine pride, Ginny focused her attention back on Ron and his friends as they headed towards Gringotts. The mudblood's muggle parents were following behind, sending Arthur questioning glances as he began to ramble on about the wonders of 'elektcitricy,' and sending their daughter pleading glances as if for help. The mudblood seemed not to notice, speaking enthusiastically to Ron and Potter, waving her arms around foolishly in the air for emphasis.

Percy slipped away to do his own shopping at one point, followed by the discovery that the twins had been missing for quite some time, undoubtedly to a joke shop or something of the sort. By the time they finally arrived at Gringotts only Ginny, her parents, Ron, Potter, the mudblood and her parents remained. The parents were talking amongst themselves, the muggles seeming much more comfortable now that Arthur wasn't singing the praises of everyday items to them. It disgusted Ginny that her parents were associating with such filth, but again, she didn't say anything. It wasn't her place to question her parents, no matter how much she wished to.

Still, when her parents had attempted to introduce her to the muggles, she had managed to slip away politely before even getting their names, sidling up to the trio in front of her. This had led to Ron attempting to introduce her to the mudblood, but she had quickly put an end to that foolish notion with a disdainful sneer, turning away from the mudblood's outstretched hand. Ron had seemed ready to shout at her, but Potter had managed to calm him with some talk of not making a scene, and how it was probably just a girl thing.

Ginny wondered when everyone she knew would stop using that as an excuse for her behavior. Even the mudblood–Granger–seemed to except it, and she herself was a girl.

Eventually Granger and her parents slipped away to convert some of their muggle money into galleons, and the rest of the Weasleys (and Potter) went down to their vaults.

They stopped at Potter's first, and Ginny was a bit disappointed by the lack of flair within. There was gold, certainly, _a lot _of gold (_though nowhere compared Bellatrix's _trust _vault_) but no ancient relics or heirlooms, or anything worth taking a second look at, really. Ron was gaping, mouth wide open, and jealousy plainly written all over his face. Ginny had to admit that she was jealous too, only hiding it a bit better because she knew at least as Bellatrix she could have the same luxuries. She only wondered why Potter didn't do anything to improve his clothes–no, rags, with all the money he had.

Her parents also exchanged jealous looks, but covered it quickly with small smiles. That didn't stop spots of burning shame from appearing on her mum's cheeks as they stopped at the Weasley vault and Molly grabbed the last copper knuts that had been lying on the floor, before scurrying back into the cart. Thankfully Potter wasn't rude enough to mention it, and so Ginny managed to enjoy the exhilaration of the cart ride back without any interruptions besides Ron's occasional wistful glances at the pouch full of money hidden in Potter's robes.

Once they were clear of the bank and had met up with Granger once more, Molly led them purposefully through store after store, not stopping to browse or indulge in anything of the school list, until they finally reached Flourish and Blotts. On the door in large letters was a sign proclaiming a book signing for Gilderoy Lockhart, and a blushing Molly pulled them inside.

Lockhart was attractive with his wavy blond hair, bright blue eyes and charming grin, and seemed well aware of the fact as he preened before the crowd. Out of the corner of her eye Ginny saw her mother patting her hair down while blushing furiously, and Ginny was hard pressed to restrain a giggle.

Still, all seemed to be going well, and Ginny was sure they would get his books (Lockhart's texts had been the only defense books on the school list) and leave without interruption, when Lockhart's eyes fell upon the Weasleys. More like the person standing next to the Weasleys.

"It can't be Harry Potter!" Lockhart declared, pulling an uncomfortable looking Potter onto the podium besides him and whispering something into his ear with a big smile as he latched an arm around the boy's shoulders. "Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make an announcement I've been sitting on for some time!" Lockhart declared, and the audience leaned forward in rapt attention.

"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography–which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge–" The crowd burst into applause and Lockhart waited for them to die down before he continued, "He had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, more more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me." He paused for effect, "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The crowd began to cheer and applaud noisily as Lockhart pushed a set of his books into Potter's hands. Struggling to hold the tall stack of books in his hands, Potter managed to struggle his way off the stage and towards where Ginny was standing next to Ron.

"You can take them," Harry mumbled as he tipped the books into her new cauldron, "I'll buy my own."

Ginny raised an eyebrow at his declaration, but did not protest. She had been nothing but rude to him, and that wasn't going to change, even if this was his attempt at making amends. Still, she wouldn't refuse a set of nice books (_unlike the second-hand ones she got at every other store_) no matter how much her pureblood pride rebelled against the thought of charity.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" A haughty, slightly familiar voice interrupted Ginny's thoughts, "Famous Harry Potter, can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."

Potter's face hardened into a glare and turned around to see who had spoken. It was the same boy she had seen at Platform Nine and Three Quarters, the Malfoy boy. No wonder why he had sounded familiar. Studying him intently for any traces of Narcissa (_The chin was hers, without a doubt. Too pointed to have come from Lucius. Those eyes were Black eyes, but more slanted than Cissy's, more like Reggie's. The nose was Lucius', as was the hair. At least he inherited good hair, but it was too pale to have come from Cissy…_)

Her thoughts were interrupted once more as Granger struggled her way through the crowd towards them, and Ron went bright red in anger as he locked eyes with Malfoy.

"It's you, huh," said Ron, shooting Malfoy a disgusted look, "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"

Malfoy answered with a sneer that was all Lucius', "Not as surprised as I am to see you. I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those books."

Ron's ears turned a bright purple color as he dropped his books into Ginny's cauldron and started at Malfoy. Potter and Granger held him back, grabbing him by the end of his jacket, and Ginny began to back away slowly, hoping to stay away from the confrontation.

"Ron!" Arthur shouted as he spotted the confrontation taking place, hurrying over quickly. He was followed by Fred and George who they had met up with on the way back from the bank. Percy was somewhere in the shop too, undoubtedly ignoring the commotion in an effort to distance himself from it as Ginny was attempting to do. "We should go outside, don't get into any trouble." He said, with a glance at the Malfoy scion.

"Well, well, well–Arthur Weasley." A familiar voice sneered, and Ginny looked away from her dad to see that Lucius Malfoy had arrived behind his son, hand placed on his shoulder and sneering in the same haughty manner.

"Lucius," Arthur greeted, nodding coldly.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," Lucius baited with a small smirk. "All those raids…I hope they're paying you overtime?"

He reached towards Ginny's cauldron and she had to stifle the urge to pull her belongings away from him. This was a power play, and she would not get involved, she decided, allowing him to grab an old, battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration from within the midst of the glossy, new Lockhart books.

"Obviously not," He sneered, turning the book over in his hands. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of a wizard if they don't even pay you for it?"

Ginny's dad flushed a darker red than even Ron, and she had to restrain the urge to put her head in her hands. If this was a power play, it was clearly one-sided. It was obvious Lucius was in control of the situation, Arthur nothing more than a small annoyance.

"We have a very different idea of what it means to be a disgrace to the name of wizard, Malfoy." Arthur hissed angrily.

"Clearly," Lucius replied, ice blue eyes wandering over Granger's muggle parents who were watching wide-eyed. "The company you keep, Weasley. To think I thought you could sink no lower."

With a roar of rage, Arthur threw himself at Lucius, knocking him backwards into a bookshelf. Dozens of spell-books came crashing down on their heads, and Ginny grabbed the younger Malfoy's sleeve, pulling him out of the commotion. It was incredibly rude, but at least it would keep him from also becoming involved in the disgraceful display before her.

Fred and George were cheering her father on, shouting triumphantly, as Molly shrieked at him to stop. The crowd backed away, ever face watching the display in twisted interest, and the salesclerk was nearly crying as more bookshelves went crashing to the ground, books flying ever direction.

"Pathetic," Ginny hissed to herself, "I expected this from my dad, yes, Lord Malfoy, no."

"I quite agree," Came the reply from besides her, and Ginny berated herself silently for forgetting the younger Malfoy's presence.

"I apologize," She stated, manners taking over at the awkward situation as more shrieks filled the air. "I haven't introduced myself. Ginerva Weasley."

She hesitated to hold out a hand, not sure if the Malfoy would even be willing to look at her, knowing the family she came from, but to her surprise he seemed to survey her for a few seconds before nodding curtly. "Draco Malfoy, a pleasure to make your acquaintance," He said, bringing her hand to his lips, "Though under…distressing circumstances."

Ginny gave him a small smirk and they both turned away to watch their parents fight, Draco mumbling something under his breath that sounded like, "Not _quite _as filthy as the others. At least she has manners."

"Break it up, break it up–coming through!"

Hagrid's voice rang through the store as he waded through the sea of books that littered the floor, pulling the two fighting men apart. Arthur had a cut lip that was bleeding ever-so-slightly, and Lucius had been hit in the eye with a large book. He was still holding Ginny's secondhand Transfiguration book, and thrust it at her with a snarl.

"Here, girl–take the book–it's the best your father can get you after all–" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he motioned to Draco and swept from the shop, leaving a distressed salesclerk in his wake, staring pitifully after the powerful man.

"Shoulda ignored 'im, Arthur," Hagrid said, as he lifted Ginny's dad to his feet. "Rotten ter the core, them Malfoys–none of 'em worth listenin' ter–bad blood, that's what it is–come on now–let's get outta 'ere."

Barely holding back a comment on how Hagrid himself would certainly know all about bad blood, judging from the looks of giant blood in him, Ginny turned away, following the rest of her family out of the store.

The salesclerk gave them a horrified look as he glanced about the ruined state of his store, and seemed to consider attempting to stop him, but thought better of it as he realized that the odds would be very much against him. As they left, Ginny noticed the other three adults were positively shaking, her mum with repressed fury and the mudblood's parents with fear. _Serves them right, _she though vindictively, _they should learn their place in our world._

"A fine example to set for our children, brawling in public like that! What Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought–" Molly began, her temper obviously being visibly restrained.

"He was happy," Fred interrupted, seemingly oblivious to his mother's bad temper, "Didn't you here him as we left? He was asking the reporter from the Daily Prophet if he could work it into his report–said it was good for publicity–"

Molly gave an irritated snort, but seemed satisfied that her idol would not hold the scene against her, and let it go. The rest of the trip back to the Leaky Cauldron was spent in an awkward silence that didn't dissipate even when the Weasleys arrived back at the Burrow with Potter, the mudblood and her parents having gone home by themselves.

* * *

><p><em>The air was frigid as they entered the train station, and Bellatrix was bundled in heavy winter robes, a scarf tight across her mouth. All of the cousins were there to see her off, as she was the first to be leaving for Hogwarts in their generation, and neither her mother and father nor aunt and uncle attempted to hide their sneers of disgust as they strode through the crowd of bustling muggles towards the platform entrance.<em>

_Bellatrix was a little nervous about heading through the barrier, but Ginny had already been through before, so ignored the feeling as Bellatrix strode purposefully on ahead, into the column separating the platforms nine and ten. _

_With a slight feeling of disorientation she sunk through the entrance and into the already busy platform for the Hogwart's Express. Her sisters followed soon after, Sirius and Regulus right behind them and the adults taking up the back of the line._

_The family huddled together in an open end of the train station as polite goodbyes and well-wishes were exchanged. Her aunt and uncle Walpurga and Orion merely gave her tight nods and reminders not to besmirch the name of Black, as well as warnings to get into Slytherin. Bellatrix accepted their comments with a grateful nod, as she knew neither were into displays of emotion, and their harsh comments were as good of a goodbye as she would get._

_Andromeda gave her a big hug–and if it was slightly longer than was appropriate for public situations, no one mentioned it. "I'll miss you," Andromeda whispered into Bellatrix's ear before pulling away, "Even if we don't always get along."_

_That could have been the understatement of the century, Bellatrix thought with a wry smirk, but answered all the same. "You too, be good." They both knew that the warning wasn't necessary, as Andromeda was without a doubt the perfect daughter in the Black family, but Bellatrix really didn't know what else to say._

_She would miss her sister much more than she had expected, Ginny realized, Andromeda was very important to her, even if she liked to pretend that it wasn't true. "Take care of Cissy for me." She warned with her best I'm-the-eldest-so-you-listen-up look._

_Andromeda nodded, and stepped back, face revealing that she too would miss her sister more than expected, before Sirius stepped up to give her a short hug._

_Their parents were now mingling with other prominent purebloods, and so Sirius didn't bother to restrain his enthusiasm as he practically bounced with excitement."Tell me all about it! Send me letters, descriptions, everything!" He demanded, before adding "Have tons of fun too!" a second later, as though he had forgotten._

_Any feelings of dislike between them were forgotten for the moment as Bellatrix met his eyes with a conspiratorial grin. It wasn't everyday that you left to Hogwarts for the first time, and neither was willing to spoil it with their petty rivalry. "Of course, I'll give you any secret passageways I find so you can prank the mudbloods, I know, I know." She said, repeating what he had been begging of her for the past few days._

_He grinned back, and Regulus pushed him aside, reaching up towards her for a hug. She knelt down to say goodbye and he pouted into her arms. "I have to wait forever!" He complained, "Five more _years! _I've barely been alive that long…"_

_Bellatrix barely contained her coo at his adorable pout, instead settling for kissing him on the head and ruffling his wild black curls. "I'll miss you too, Reggie. At least you'll have people to keep you company, I'll be all alone for the next three years before Andy comes!"_

_Reggie's face screwed up in concentration as he did the math, before nodding. "But you'll still have friends. I'll be stuck with Stupid Cissy, Scary Sirius and Angel Andy!" He wined, at Bellatrix gave a laugh at the nicknames._

_"I'm sure you'll manage, brat." She said, pushing him off of her with a smile that he returned readily._

_The moment he was out of her arms, a blond blur struck her full force, and Bellatrix nearly had to take a step back to avoid being squashed by her over-enthusiastic sister._

_"I'll miss you, I'll miss you–and, oh, don't go! Please, I'll be so lonely without you, Reggie's fun, but he's a _boy, _and–" Narcissa begged, completely ignoring the many rules of propriety she was breaking._

_Ginny didn't mind, and Bellatrix held her tight for a few minutes, before noticing her parents turning back towards them, and releasing her sister quickly. "I'll miss you too, Cissy. Don't worry though, we'll see each other soon, and I'll write you all the time."_

_Narcissa seemed to sense her parent's return for she did not complain as Bellatrix pushed her gently off, instead asking, "Promise?" In a small voice._

_"Of course!" Bellatrix replied with a teasing grin, "And when have I ever broken a promise?"_

_Narcissa glared at her, puffing up in frustration, "_All _the time! Like that time when you promised you would say the house-elf stole the cookies, that time with the dolly of Andy's, the time with Sirius' chocolate frog collection–"_

_Narcissa was cut off by her mother's smooth voice, and Bellatrix offered her another smile before turning away, reaching out to squeeze her arm almost unnoticeably. _

_"We are very proud of you, Bellatrix. You are an exceptional young witch," Her father began, "We know you will be a pride to the House of Black, and have full faith you will be sorted into Slytherin, following the actions of years of ancestors before you."_

_Bellatrix nodded seriously, knowing she would do anything she could to go with the rest of her family and prove herself to her parents. The five-minute whistle on the train blew with a shrill screech, and her father engulfed her in a short hug, breath warm against her ear. "You'll go far, Bella." He said with a rare, tender smile, before passing her off to her mother who embraced her as well._

_With a last hug from Narcissa and Regulus, Bellatrix turned towards the train, hefting her featherlight bag behind her and searching the crowd for a familiar face, before falling into step with Lucius Malfoy._

Ready or not, here I come,_ she thought gloomily, the mantra of a popular children's game called Find the Muggle. The red steam-engine seemed especially foreboding as she boarded it besides Lucius, accepting his help with her baggage though she didn't really need it. It was only polite, after all. She only hoped she could live up to her family's expectations, Ginny thought, before Bellatrix's confident thoughts seemed to fill her. She _would _do her family and everyone else proud, because she was a Black, and Blacks were the best._

* * *

><p>The Weasley send-off to Hogwarts was much more dramatic, involving a large amount of weeping from her mum, and even a couple of tears from her normally more calm dad. In the hustle and bustle of sending off their youngest and only daughter off to Hogwarts for the first time, no one noticed two missing children, and Ginny hardly thought it her duty to remind them.<p>

She had a sorting to prepare for, after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, what does everyone think? Please leave a review, it would mean a ton! I didn't have too much time to grammar check it, so feel free to point out any errors :)<strong>

**R&R**

**~Mitzzi**


	7. Chapter 6

**Well, here you go. I know this took me forever, but I got back from vacation and was feeling _super _lazy, and then school was starting…whatever, it's out now, that's what matters. **

**Tried to include some of Ginny's conflict with Bellatrix in this chapter–let me know how you feel about it.**

* * *

><p>Ginny stepped onto the train, pulling her battered trunk behind her. In front of her were Fred and George, who had been "kind" enough to help her onto the train. She was sure they were only looking to embarrass her,as Ron had warned her they would. He had gone on to say that this could prove to be a good thing, as it was how he met Potter. That had led to Ron describing his friend in detail (as though she hadn't seen him before, he was living in her house, for Salazar's sake!) and telling and retelling all of Potter's heroic actions again and again. Needless to say, Ginny had fled, but was sure to keep his warning in mind.<p>

Apparently only keeping it mind wasn't enough, Ginny realized, as one twin grabbed her shoulders–despite her futile protests–the other sweeping open the doorway of the nearest compartment with a flourish.

They shoved her into the compartment without any regard for the people already inside, making sure to use her childhood nickname Gin-gin in order to embarrass her even further as they exaggerated any worries about Hogwarts she had shared with them to the compartment's single occupant, before fleeing the scene with a last "Don't worry, we'll be across the hall if you need us, no need to get scared!" and a cheeky grin.

Ginny's cheeks were flushed in mortification as she sunk onto an unoccupied seat, repressing the urge to cover her face with her hands and groan. Instead she managed a strained smile at the boy across from her, hoping he wouldn't take anything her brothers had said seriously. Luckily he seemed lonely enough to crave any company, shyly introducing himself the moment the twin's raucous laughter faded from earshot.

"I'm Collin, Collin Creevy." He said, giving her a small smile. There was no insignia on his plain Hogwarts robes, marking him as another first year.

"Ginerva Weasley, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She responded automatically, searching his face for features she recognized.

She didn't find any, though that wasn't unexpected. It wasn't like she knew the all of the families by sight, only the seven Ancient houses, and even then, chances were she would be hard pressed to recognize any of their children. Regulus was the one with the perfect memory and eye for detail, able to recite the Black's family tree until the first Lord Aries Black, nearly four-hundred years ago.

"So…are you excited?" Collin asked, breaking the silence that had stretched a little too long.

"Definitely, I've been waiting for ages!" She declared, "The sorting will be easy, of course, _I_ already know where I'm headed. Where are you looking to be?"

"I don't know…" He answered carefully, "I only learned about magic when I got my letter, see, so I don't really know much." Before Ginny could respond, or even think too much about what he had just said (_Mudblood, abomination, filth!_Bellatrix shouted from within her), Collin continued on rapidly.

"I guess I want to be Gryffindor, I've heard the Headmaster came from there. Harry Potter too, can you believe it! He'll be at school this year, _with us. _I bet you know all about him already, being magical and all, but from what I've read he seems so exciting! I wonder if he'll let me take a picture?" The boy blurted out, not stopping even pause for breath as he spoke.

He continued to rattle on, not pausing for breath or to hear a reply, and Ginny was torn in her possible responses. Part of her wanted to stand up and walk away, (_"I wouldn't suggest antagonizing them until you know a few more spells, Bella. For now just be content to ignore them. They don't deserve the attention of purebloods like you."_) and part of her wanted to teach him his place, trash like him daring to waste _her _time. She wanted to make him _bleed, _make him _scream _as he begged for mercy, until…

(_Legs twisted at an unnatural angle, mangled and bloody, body still racked with tremors from round after round of cruciatus, puncture holes adorning his body, one arm lying feet away from the unmoving corpse, and eyes glassy and wide open, still filled with fear and horror._)

No! Bile rose in her throat as images of boys _just like him _flashed through her mind–_ and dying_, one after another, alongside a wicked surge of elation that the memories brought forward from Bellatrix's mind. Without another word Ginny raced out of the apartment, ignoring his confused protest from within and slammed the door shut behind her.

To her luck there was a bathroom just down the hall, and without a second thought Ginny raced into it, closing the door behind her with a bang. Panting, she leaned against the wall, still fighting back the images that were flashing through her mind (_"Please, my son!" "No–I'll do anything! Have mercy, please!" "Avada Kedavra!" "Crucio!"_). The bile that had risen in her throat threatened to leave her mouth completely, before she quickly pushed it back down, vainly attempting to regain her composure.

She sat on the floor, back pressed against the door for a few more minutes as she battled against Bellatrix, before calming down enough to stand back up. Chancing a glance in the mirror, Ginny was horrified by what she saw, and a wave of embarrassment swept through her. Her hair was hanging limply to her sweaty forehead, her eyes wild and dilated, and her robes askew. She had ran through the train, in front of people who she would spend the _next seven years of her life _with, looking like this?

Molly would be embarrassed and perhaps disappointed, Druella would be furious and ashamed–Merlin, today was a nightmare and it had barely began.

_At least it was only in front of a mudblood, _Ginny consoled herself as she attempted to fix her appearance, studiously ignoring any other stray thoughts the word _mudblood _pulled to mind.

Once satisfied she looked reasonably presentable, Ginny slowly unlocked the door of the bathroom, taking a few deep breaths, and plastering the haughty, pureblood mask that she had practiced to perfection on her face. The train had begun moving while she had been in the bathroom, and there were no empty compartments left that she could see, so she merely slipped into the next compartment with an open space she saw.

Inside sat a tanned, spanish looking boy with shaggy dark hair that reached just past his ears. He was wearing already dressed, wearing plain black Hogwarts robes that lacked the insignia of any house. _Another first year. _Sitting next to him was a small girl with waves of dusty blond hair that fell down a couple of inches past her shoulders. The Ravenclaw insignia on her robes marked her as a returning student, but she did not appear to be more than a year older than Ginny. _Second year, possibly? _The two were talking quietly while occasionally gesturing at the book that lay in between them, which Ginny recognized as one of the assigned defense books by Lockhart.

Closing the door softly behind her, she sat down across them and opened her charms book, content to ignore them as long as they ignored her. Ginny didn't think another conversation would be helpful to her almost ever present struggle against Bellatrix's memories at the moment either, especially not after the incident with the mudblood boy. Everything about the train stirred up memories inside Bellatrix that wanted to escape, but Ginny was extremely proficient at keeping them out by now. It was only when something out of the ordinary happened that she lost her control as she had earlier, and even then it normally wasn't as bad, just a few seconds of spacing out. _Normally, _though, she was not witnessing herself _torture _people _to death, _so she thought she deserved a break.

The other two both looked pureblooded at least, which she was thankful for, as she did not want to have to find yet _another _compartment, or face another vicious onslaught of memories.

At least the memories were good for something, Ginny thought, as she paged through her charms book towards the last chapter she had read. The book had been passed down straight from Bill to her, as it had been misplaced until recently, and as such was in relatively good condition. When she had read through it after receiving it, and was subject to another rush of knowledge from Bellatrix, she had been almost ecstatic. Bellatrix Lestrange had died long after she graduated from Hogwarts, and was well versed in all her first year coursework (mother would expect all O's, of course) so was an excellent help with all the theory, allowing Ginny to skip all the boring _learning _and get to the exciting _doing._

The three children sat in relative silence for the next half hour or so, the two people across from Ginny discussing whether the methods in Lockhart's book would actually work or not. The girl argued that they would, saying Lockhart would not have escaped otherwise, and the boy saying that the writing was pure fiction, and he would not have had to escape from a scenario that never happened, and besides, who had ever heard of a werewolf melting on contact with 'holy water', whatever that was? Meanwhile Ginny read through her book, occasionally pausing to practice spells that she had learnt with her mother or Bellatrix had solid advice on. It was only when an old lady passed by with the trolley of sweets that the rhythm was broken, the boy standing up to buy a handful of chocolate frogs.

After offering one to his companion who declined, he looked across the compartment, reaching out to offer one to Ginny, while introducing himself.

"Avery, Jason Avery, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss…" He trailed off, looking at her expectantly as he swept the hair out of his eyes in a practiced motion.

"Ginerva Weasley, the pleasure is all mine." Ginny answered just as formally, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as she grabbed a chocolate frog from his outstretched hand. It was one thing when parents or mudbloods were around, but there was no need to act so _boring _when no one else was watching.

Avery recoiled a bit at her name, but hid it quickly, putting a chocolate frog into his own mouth, probably in order to avoid speaking for a few minutes. The girl sighed, seemingly annoyed at his behavior, but spoke next.

"Lilian Moon, Ravenclaw second year." She said, "You don't…seem like your brothers."

It was a trap statement, gaging whether Ginny would take offense at that or agree, and judging _how _she would agree if she did. Ginny hated word games, but knew they were necessary, _still, _she couldn't help but want to whine, _if she were in Bellatrix's body there would be no need for this. _But Bellatrix was a Black, and Ginny was a Weasley, she had things to prove, so she would have to play along.

In all honesty, she was surprised they had not guessed her identity immediately, but after thinking it over for a second she realized that was a silly assumption. It was not as though red was that uncommon of a hair color that all red heads had to be connected, and her brothers were all boys, which would stop any of them from looking too much like her. Even if she had a sister, she was still decidedly different looking compared to the rest of her family. Her hair fell in curly ringlets like Bellatrix's, the color more of an auburn than cherry-red like the rest of her family's hair, and her eyes were a blue-grey that was too dark for the rest of her family's bright blue. Her freckles were less defined, her face more angular…

Okay, so maybe she did not look like her brothers after all. Maybe it made sense they had not pegged her immediately as another Weasley.

"I guess I got the good genes." Ginny said, and Moon gave her a smile.

Pureblood was pure blood after all, no matter the family's general inclination, and if you ignored the fact that Weasleys were now the bottom of the pureblood world, they had still been around longer than most.

Avery seemed to decide that as well, as he also gave her a calculated smile, not too big, not too small. "What house are you aiming for?" He asked, not bothering to hide the fact that he was fishing for information, probably trying to see just how much like her brothers she was.

"It's a surprise, but trust me, it'll be a _surprise._" Ginny said with a secretive gesture and a grin.

"Not Gryffindor, then?" He asked, before continuing, "I'm aiming for Slytherin myself, but Lily here's got money on Ravenclaw, says I read too much for anywhere else."

Moon shrugged, "What can I say, it's the best house?"

"Don't let a Gryffindor hear you say that," Ginny warned, before continuing in a mock whisper, "I've seen it, they get _rabid._"

"It must be horrible living with them." Avery sneered, and Ginny frowned. She might not like most of her family members, but she wasn't going to allow strangers to insult them in front of her.

"It gets…" Ginny paused, searching for an appropriate word, "wild. What about you? Isn't it slimy living with so many Slytherins?" She asked, turning the question back on him.

Avery did not seem to take offense, instead grinning at her, "I like you, Ginerva–you're not bad, for a Weasley."

"Just Ginny, please, Ginerva sounds like a muggle disease." Ginny said.

"So it does. I go by Jace myself, though I don't have quite as good of a reason." Jason said, before pausing with a smirk, "What do you think of Lockhart? Not another one of his pansy fangirls like Lily, are you?"

Pride as a female filled her–just as he was probably aiming for–and she puffed up indignantly, "Of course not, it's pure trash!" She announced, and from the little bit she had read (_"Then I shot her my famous smile, and the hag disintegrated immediately. So starved for love was she that the merest sign of affection from a man as handsome as me killed her. _[A Year with a Yeti, 21]) Ginny thought the description was probably correct.

Moon obviously did not share this opinion as she immediately jumped to Lockhart's defense, citing eye-witness accounts that quickly launched the three of them into an animated discussion about Lockhart, the Defense curse, and last year's teacher, Quirrel, who had supposedly met a grisly death. At this Ginny had smirked, remembering the letter from Ron, but had said nothing to incriminate _her _family, merely hinting that Potter had somehow been involved.

Both Jason and Moon picked up her hints, and seemed horrified at the idea (_"He defeats the Dark Lord when he's one, and kills the Defense professor when he's eleven? Remind me to stay out of his way!"_). They were interrupted from there discussion again, around twenty minutes later, when the compartment door slid open and a blond head poked in.

"Oi, Weasley," Draco Malfoy spoke, "Where are Potter and your brother?"

"Haven't seen them since I got on the train," Ginny shrugged (not literally of course, mother would have a fit!), secretly wondering the same thing. Potter could skive off school if he wanted to, but he would _not _bring _her _brother down with him.

The Malfoy gave her a searching look before nodding, seeming to accept her answer, and turning away, closing the door behind him. The compartment sat in silence for a second as he was heard ordering a Crabbe and Goyle back to his compartment. Finally his voice faded away, and Jason spoke.

"What was that all about?" He asked.

"Probably his eternal rivalry with Potter and Ginerv–Ginny's brother." Lilian answered, and smirked when Ginny shot her a questioning glance. "It's somewhat of a running joke in Ravenclaw."

"Well I don't know why he hates Potter so much, besides the obvious of course, but I'm pretty sure his fued with Ron started with our fathers'." Ginny said, going on to describe the fight at Flourish and Blotts in extreme detail at Lilian's prompting. She exaggerated a few details, but much to Lilian's disbelief (_"Lord Malfoy did _what?") and Jason's amusement, the story remained mostly the same, and the three fell back into a comfortable rhythm for the rest of the ride.

* * *

><p><em>"You're lying, Lucius." Bellatrix said, narrowing her eyes at her companion.<em>

_"Not at all. I thought everyone knew." He replied with a lazy smirk, "But I guess it's different for girls."_

_"What's that supposed to mean?" Bellatrix demanded, Ginny mentally shouting in approval. Stupid sexist git!_

_They were about half-way to Hogwarts, having been joined by Isla and Evan Rosier and Niles Fawcett before the train had left the station. The five had spent the majority of the train ride practicing spells and ignoring everyone else in the compartment (Niles, nerdy little Ravenclaw-to-be that he was) or playing in a wizard's chess tournament as they chatted about anything that came to mind (everyone else)._

_Ginny had met Isla and Evan–pale skinned, dark haired twins that were her age–over the summer at one of her Uncle Orion's meetings with their father, the current head of house Rosier. Evan–a tall boy with dark blue eyes and a prominent jaw–had been allowed inside the meeting for the majority of the time as he was the heir, but Isla–shorter than her brother with more angular features and brown eyes–had been locked outside with Bellatrix. The two had spent the next hour or so plotting their vicious revenge on Isla's brother for leaving them outside while he got to listen in, but the plans evaporated when he was kicked out as well only half way through the meeting so the adults could discuss 'sensitive topics'. _

_They had pestered him for information for the rest of the day that stretched to night as the Rosiers stayed until dinner, Isla and Evan's father staying locked up in Uncle Orion's study the whole time, but to their disappointment he had not heard anything remotely interesting. All Evan had to say was that they had discussed the shares they owned at multiple stores around Diagon Alley, and had dismissed him once they had begun talking about the influx of mudbloods into the wizarding world._

_The Rosiers had come back the day after, and the day after that for nearly an entire week, Bellatrix's father coming to join them after the second day, and staying hidden in Uncle Orion's study for hours, only leaving occasionally to eat. Evan was no longer allowed in any of the meetings once Cygnus had joined, the topics deemed too sensitive for young ears, but he had mentioned that he had picked up on some interesting stuff, though he refused to share exactly what he had heard, much to Ginny's disappointment._

_The three had become fast friends as they roamed the corridors of Black Manor together, occasionally joined by one of Bellatrix's sisters or cousins, who had a tendency to stay out of the way when older guests were over, but did not want Bellatrix to spend the last of her summer before Hogwarts away from them._

_Niles was a friend of Lucius' as their parents were major political allies in the ministry, but Bellatrix did not really know him all that well, as he rarely separated his nose from whatever book he had with him. He was shorter than Evan but still reasonably tall, and had straggly deep brown hair that often hung in his eyes. _

_Niles had seemed more than willing to listen to them talk and joke about until Isla began persistently pestering him for his own commentary, at which point he had suggested the wizard's chess tournament to keep them busy. It had worked for a time as they played in relative silence, the two not playing not wanting to distract the others, until during a game between Evan and his sister they had began a teasing banter meant to distract the opponent._

_Eventually the teasing comments led back to a regular conversation that Niles was, much against his will, dragged into, though he refused to be parted from his history text to play a game, adding his thoughts occasionally, and quite randomly, such as his one offhand comment on the chess game which Bellatrix and Isla played–in which she was playing black and slaughtering Isla mercilessly, Bellatrix was not even that good, Isla was just…bad–saying that the chess game resembled the current political climate._

_The comment had confused her, but Lucius seemed to understand it, nodding and replying that the black was the purebloods taking over the so called 'Light' or white pieces. Evan had smirked at that, saying it would probably go even faster than the chess game, and Lucius had said something about "Him being better at 'chess' than Bella."_

_Of course, Bellatrix was confused out of her mind, but not confused enough that she forgot to take offense at his statement, and let him know so, only to be confused–once again–as Lucius laughed and said it was not an insult, as from what he had heard, there was no one who could dream of comparing to "His skills."_

_Isla seemed confused as well, and quite angry that her twin seemed to understand what was going on, but had not informed her, and seemed to waver between yelling at him or asking him what was going on for a few seconds before finally asking the rest of the compartment, studiously ignoring her brother._

_Then _Lucius _had had the gall to seem confused as he explained the them about whispers of a Lord Slytherin seeking to stop the mudbloods from taking over the land, and purge the world of muggle filth. He said that his father–as well as many other prominent purebloods–had been approached by this Lord Slytherin to remind him of a long-ago debt that Lord Malfoy owed Him, and to be assured that the Malfoys would support his cause._

_Lucius said that his father had supposedly gone to school with the man, who had been hiding his identity back then so that he could get under Dumbledore's nose, and that his father had agreed to side with Him, and to donate what he could to His cause. Lucius then finished by explaining that he had heard Lord Slytherin had approached other prominent pureblood families, and wouldn't he have come by the Blacks? _

_It was then that Ginny–and Bellatrix–realized what the Rosiers must have been talking with Uncle Orion about, but was still certain that her family would have _told _her at least, which led her to her current predicament._

_"What's that supposed to mean?" Bellatrix demanded, Ginny mentally shouting in approval. Stupid sexist git!_

_Lucius shrugged, as though what he had said was no big deal, "You're a girl, you'll never be the heir, so it doesn't really matter. It's not your choice what happens to the family, after all."_

_"It's true, I mean, Evan and I knew about it." Niles added, for once peering over the edge of his book._

_Evan grimaced at his words with an apologetic expression, "Sorry Isla, but father said it was important to be kept secret…I guess Lucius' didn't think that way…" He trailed off._

_Lucius smirked at that, "Well I don't have any siblings, so I'm sure my father didn't feel it was necessary to warn me against it…Oops."_

_Much to Ginny's displeasure, Bellatrix seemed to see this as a peace-offering, and deflated with a nod. "Thanks." She muttered, acting almost embarrassed she had challenged him. Ginny did not understand this at all, angry that Bellatrix would just let him talk to her like that–she might be a girl, but she was just as capable as her brothers (more so!) and Lucius! Girls were allowed to be anything they wanted, and could even inherit the name of the family if they did not get married and had no siblings! It wasn't the seventies! _

_Oh…that explains it, Ginny thought sheepishly, most of the bills for woman's rights had not yet been passed by the Wizengamot. It _was _the seventies._

_Oh well, she shrugged as she turned her attention back to the chess board where Bellatrix was already moving a knight. A little sexism was a small price to pay for the advantages of being a Black. With all of her pondering Ginny did not spare another thought to the Lord that Lucius had mentioned, and with the excitement of the sorting ahead of her she forgot about it immediately._

* * *

><p>After a pretty brown-haired Hufflepuff prefect with light highlights that Lilian had stared at jealously named Destiny directed them towards the boats, Ginny had worked her way down the narrow path, too excited to bother being disgusted by the mud she was trailing through.<p>

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," The large man that was guiding called over his shoulder in a horrific mangling of the words, "jus' round this bend here."

Jason and Ginny hurried forward, pushing through the crowd of other excited first years in order to get the best view letting a soft "Oooooh!" of astonishment at the sight.

The narrow path had opened suddenly on to the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

It was wonderful, Ginny thought, everything she thought it would be and more. Hopefully it would be that amazing on the inside as well. Black Manor could never compare to this, then again, Black Manor, though large, was no where _near _the size of the castle before them.

"Hop on in!" The large man called again, pointing to a fleet of small boats sitting in the water by the short, "No more'n four to a boat!"

Jason stepped into a boat cautiously, and Ginny followed, not bothering to take her eyes off the castle to see who had gotten in behind her. The boats began to move after a command from their guide, sliding smoothly across the lake, ripples echoing loudly in the silence as all of the first year's eyes, pureblood and mudblood alike stared in awe at the school.

It towered over them, looming bigger and bigger as they sailed closer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" Came the command, and they all bent their heads, the boats carrying them through a curtain of ivy which had a wide opening in the cliff were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out on to rocks and pebbles.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door, and their guide raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

* * *

><p><em>Bellatrix watched the sorting hat open its mouth to shout "Gryffindor!" as the girl sitting beneath it practically fled towards the red and gold table. McGonagall opened her mouth once more to read off the scroll before her, and said. <em>

_"Black, Bellatrix."_

_She took a step forward._

* * *

><p>Ginny watched person after person be sorted, Jason going to Slytherin just as he had hoped, and Lilian standing up to cheer loudly for him, even though she looked a bit disappointed he was not in her house. Finally it was time, she was the only one left. She glanced at the Gryffindor table to see her brothers watching eagerly; Percy, Fred, George, Ron…<p>

No…Ron was not there. She searched the table for his face but did not see him, and worried for a second as she remembered that he had not come onto the platform with them, but any thoughts of Ron were driven away as McGonagall spoke again.

"Weasley, Ginerva."

* * *

><p><em>The hat was heavy on Bellatrix's head as she perched on the rickety old stool. "Slytherin. Slytherin. Slytherin." She thought, waiting for the hat to speak.<em>

_"Hmm…" A voice sounded in her head, and Bellatrix barely managed to stop herself from jumping. "Bit reckless I see, yes and quite a lot of courage…"_

_"No!" Bellatrix thought frantically, realizing where the description was headed, but the hat ignored her, continuing on._

_"But you are _very _ambitious, aren't you? And you play word games as good as all your ancestors. Yes…" The voice said, "You'll be great in…"_

* * *

><p>"Well, well, well, what do we have hear?" A voice that had to be the hat practically purred in Ginny's head. "A Weasley? Or a Black?"<p>

Suddenly Ginny was filled with panic, "You won't tell or I'll–" She began, only to be cut off.

"Don't worry girl, now let me sort you." The voice said before pausing. "Just like Ms. Black, you are, though a bit more headstrong and stubborn. Ah, but so much ambition. You truly are meant for…"

* * *

><p><em>"…Slytherin!"<em>

* * *

><p>"…Slytherin!"<p>

* * *

><p><em>The table covered in green and silver burst into applause.<em>

* * *

><p>Dead silence, then a loud, "What?"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>This is it for now, hopefully the next chapter will come out faster than this one did.<strong>

**R&R**

**~Mitzzi**


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